The Bonded Heir 2 - The Professor From Hell
by ProfessorChris
Summary: The conclusion of the Bonded Heir story
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 _At Potter Castle - The same evening (continued from previous story)_

Ginny and Molly arrived in the master suite a few minutes after Xavier had arrived with Harry. Maxim was already attending to Harry and making sure that he was comfortable in the bed.

"Good evening, Ginny," Maxim said once she transformed back to her human form.

"Evening, Maxim. Thank you for taking care of Harry," she replied as she walked towards the bed.

"You're welcome," replied Maxim before turning to Molly. "Good evening, Mrs. Weasley."

"Good evening, Maxim," replied Molly as she looked around the large suite.

Ginny climb onto the bed with Harry and lay next to him, she didn't want to be away from him at the moment. A while later she suddenly remembered her mum was standing in the room watching over them.

"I'm sorry, mum. I should have shown you to your room," Ginny said while attempting to get up from the bed.

"Don't worry dear, Maxim has already taken care of that," replied Molly.

"I was about to get a cup of tea, do you want anything?" asked Molly.

"No, I'm good, thanks. I think Ill get some sleep; its been a long day," Ginny said, as she climbed under the covers with Harry.

"Have a good night; I will see you in the morning," Molly stated, as she came towards the bed and gently hugged Ginny before leaving the room.

Molly slowly made her way down to the kitchen. When she arrived she was greeted by several elves, who attempted to serve her. Realizing that they were not going to leave, she asked for a pot of tea and some biscuits. They were happy to serve and quickly disappeared. Moments later Sandy returned with a tray and handed it to Molly.

"Thank you," Molly said as she took the tray.

Molly walked into the large sitting room, which had a number of portraits around the room. She wasn't really paying attention when suddenly one of them started speaking.

"Hello," said the portrait directly above the fireplace.

Molly was startled at hearing the voice and spun around with her wand drawn. She looked around for a second before realizing that it was a portrait that had spoken. She approached the fireplace and gasped in surprise, for looking directly at her were older versions of Harry and Ginny.

"Hello," said Molly gingerly as she moved closer.

"Who are you?" asked the portrait.

"I am Molly Weasley," she replied.

"Hello Molly, I'm Lily Potter and this is my husband James," the portrait said as she pointed to the man in the next picture who was slowly waking up.

"Its nice to meet you both," Molly said with a smile. She had heard many stories about the Potters but had only met them a few times before they went into hiding.

"I don't mean to be rude," Lily said in reply, "but could you tell me where we are?"

"We are in Potter Castle," explained Molly.

"And why are you here?" asked Lily, trying her hardest not to sound rude.

"I am helping my daughter, Ginny, look after Harry," she replied.

"Harry is here?" asked Lily, suddenly looking very alert.

"Yes, he is currently asleep in the master suite," Molly informed them as she looked intently at Lily, realizing just how similar Ginny and Lily were.

"Oh well, I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow to talk to him," Lily said, sounding a little sad, which surprised Molly.

"I'm sorry, Lily, but Harry will not be able to talk to you for a couple more days yet. I take it from your reaction that he has not found the portraits before. He has spent some time here over the last six months," replied Molly.

"What is wrong with Harry?" Lily asked in concern.

"He was attacked by one of my sons this evening," Molly said quietly.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ATTACKED?!" James suddenly roared, having quietly observed the conversation up to that point.

Molly wasn't sure how best to explain what had happened, and in the end decided that it would be better to explain the whole story. Over the next hour she explained to James and Lily about the Soul Bond between Harry and Ginny and everything else that had happened. They were not surprised by what they were told, as Lily had a vision after Ginny was born.

"Thank you, Molly," said Lily, after she had finished.

"You're welcome, I'm just sorry that we didn't get to meet more often before you left," replied Molly.

They continued to chat late into the evening. Molly explained what had happened in the Wizarding World since they had left. Finally, at one o'clock the next morning, Molly decided it was time to head off to bed. She bade them goodnight and headed up to her room, promising them that she would be back the next day to talk further and would ensure that Harry and Ginny knew they were there.

* * *

Over the next two days Molly spent a lot of time talking with James and Lily. She told them about her family and talked about the pranks that the twins pulled all the time. This, of course, amused James to no end.

She spent the rest of the time helping Ginny.

"How are you doing?" asked Molly, in the afternoon of the second day at the castle.

"Not too bad, thanks," replied Ginny.

"Ginny, you are amazing. I have watched you over the past two days and have seen just how mature you have become; not just with your decisions, but also with the way you have cared for Harry. There isn't anything that you wouldn't do for him and I know in my heart that he feels the same way," Molly said.

"He IS the best thing that has ever happened to me," replied Ginny.

"And I have a feeling that you are the best thing that has ever happened to him too," said Molly.

Harry told her very clearly through the bond what he thought of that statement, causing her to blush slightly.

"He agrees with you," Ginny told her a moment later.

They were quiet for a while before Molly spoke again. "Ginny, I know that you made a promise not to sleep together until you are sixteen. I just wanted you to know that we are not going to hold you to that. I am not encouraging you to indulge anytime soon, but I want you to know that when you both feel you are ready, you shouldn't be afraid to take that step.

"Just promise me that you will be careful when you do, I don't want any grandchildren just yet."

Ginny blushed when Molly mentioned sleeping together, but was pleased that her parents trusted them both enough to know when the right time was.

"Thank you, mum," replied Ginny, as she pulled her into a hug.

"Just don't tell your brothers. That isn't something they need to know about," Molly stated afterwards.

"Don't worry, that isn't something that we are going to discuss with anyone else," Ginny stated in disgust that her mum would think she would talk about her sex life with her brothers.

Harry actually laughed at her reaction to that.

 _Watch it you,_ Ginny said into the bond.

 _Or what?_ asked Harry.

 _The bed will be very cold,_ replied Ginny, laughing.

 _Oh well, Ill just have to find something else to keep me warm. I am sure they have some hot water bottles around here,_ Harry said with amusement.

 _Prat!_ exclaimed Ginny, before completely ignoring him.

The rest of the day passed very quickly as Ginny and Molly continued to talk about the future and what would happen with their education. She was well aware that both Harry and Ginny could complete their NEWT's without even trying, but was pleased that they had chosen to stay at school.

She told Ginny about her talks with James and Lily, and suggested that she visit them soon. Ginny decided to wait until Harry woke up before going to see them, as she knew that it would be hard on Harry anyway and didn't want to add to it by seeing them before he could.

Molly told her what she had discussed with James and Lily so that she wouldn't be surprised if they said anything. Ginny was worried when she said that, but Molly then told her that she had only mentioned what had happened since the bond was formed. It wasn't her right to talk about Harry's past, and she wasn't going to compromise their trust by talking about it. She did tell Ginny that she felt it was important for them to be honest about the bond with James and Lily as they needed to know what had happened to Harry, even if they could no longer do anything about it.

* * *

Ginny woke up late on the third morning at the castle; she was enjoying the closeness of sleeping next to Harry and didn't want to let him go just yet.

"Good morning, beautiful," Harry croaked.

"Good morning, love," replied Ginny without thinking.

Ginny suddenly realized that Harry had actually spoken and immediately sat up and looked at him.

"Oh, Harry, I am so glad you are finally awake," Ginny said as she leaned in and kissed him gently.

"So am I, Gin."

"How are you feeling?" asked Ginny.

"Still a little sore, but waking up with you in my arms definitely made up for that," replied Harry with a grin.

Ginny smiled down at him again and replied, "Well, you'd better get used to it."

"Oh, I think I could suffer through that," said Harry with a smirk.

Ginny playfully smacked him on his arm not realizing that Molly had walked into the room.

"Is that classified as spousal abuse, Molly?" asked Harry with a laugh.

"Well, it depends, Harry," replied Molly realizing that he was joking.

"Depends on what?" asked Harry and Ginny together.

"On whether or not you want to sleep on the couch, Harry," replied Molly before laughing at the shocked look on Harry's face when he realized she was joking.

"Oh, then in that case I would have to say no," Harry said as he rolled over to avoid another smack from Ginny.

Molly walked around the bed and said, "I am so sorry for what happened to you, Harry," pulling Harry into a hug.

As she pulled back from the hug Harry could see the regret and sadness in her eyes over what had happened to him.

"Molly, please don't blame yourself for what happened. It was Ron's fault and no one else's," Harry said with kindness.

Molly smiled at him before responding, "Thank you, Harry. Its doesn't make it much easier, but I'm glad that you are not holding a grudge against him."

"At least I came through it; unfortunately, I doubt that we will ever be able to be friends like we once were. However, I'm not going to let that ruin the friendship I have with the rest of the family."

"You really are a very wise boy, Harry. There are not many people who would be able to see that clearly after such an attack," stated Molly.

"Well, I have a wonderful wife who loves her family very much and has taught me the true meaning of love," Harry said as he pulled her close to him again.

Ginny had tears in her eyes at Harry's comment; it warmed her heart to hear Harry say it. She already knew that Harry didn't blame anyone but Ron for the attack, but it was reassuring for him to express it.

"So what do you want to do today?" asked Molly.

"I think I'm just going to relax today," replied Harry. "I want to spend some time with my beautiful wife."

"That sounds good. Ill head back to the Burrow to check how everyone is doing. Let me know if you have any problems or need anything," Molly told them as she prepared to leave.

"Thanks for all your help, Molly," replied Harry.

"Oh, and before I forget, Bill told me today that they're going to visit Grunnings in two days to have your Uncle arrested," Molly told him as she prepared to leave.

"That is most wonderful news indeed," said Harry with a large smile.

Ginny escorted Molly to the fireplace so that she could leave.

"Thanks, Mum, I couldn't have done it without your help," Ginny said as they were walking.

"It was the least I could do. I am just so glad that you have each other and will do anything to take care of yourselves," replied Molly.

"I am glad that I have Harry too, mum. He really is the best thing that has ever happened to me since the Chamber," replied Ginny.

She quickly hugged her mum and then watched as she left for the Burrow. When Ginny got back to the master suite, Harry was heading into the bathroom.

"Hey baby, I am going to have a nice long bath. Would you like to join me?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I would like that very much," replied Ginny with a smile.

A few minutes later she joined Harry in the bath. She rested her head on his chest as she sat between his legs and enjoyed the warmth of the water.

* * *

Later that day, when the two of them finally left the bedroom, they had spent several hours in the bath just relaxing. Harry had placed a warming charm on the water that kept it at the same temperature for the whole time.

Maxim was pleased that Harry was finally awake and prepared a rather large lunch which they enjoyed on the balcony outside their room.

"Well, at least your mum doesn't have to worry about me being too thin this year," Harry said with a laugh.

"That is true, but watch out, Potter, I don't want to be married to a fat boy either," replied Ginny before laughing.

"Hey, I could say the same to you," replied Harry before running out of the balcony.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, Mr. Potter, I am not a boy," replied Ginny as she chased after him.

"Oh, I can say with certainty that I am well aware that you are not a boy. There is no way you would have been sharing a bath with me this morning if you were, and I can guarantee you would not have gotten that reaction," replied Harry with a laugh reminding her of just what her wiggling had done to him.

"I am glad you realized, Mr. Potter. Otherwise I would have been very worried with that reaction," replied Ginny before catching up with him.

Before Ginny could do anything, Harry started tickling her. She was screeching at him to stop, but he refused and continued for another ten minutes before jumping up with a laugh and racing down the stairs.

"I am SO going to get you for that, Potter!" shouted Ginny as she again gave chase.

Several hours and a number of tickle wars later, the two of them were racing around the Quidditch pitch on their brooms. They had forgotten about the tickle war when they arrived outside to a glorious sunny day.

After flying for an hour they both landed in the middle of the pitch and collapsed from exhaustion.

 _I haven't had that much fun in years,_ said Ginny.

 _Ive never had that much fun before,_ replied Harry as he reached out with his hand and grabbed Ginny's.

 _Well, I'm glad that I could be with you when you did,_ replied Ginny as she shared her love for him through the bond.

 _I'm glad that you were here too,_ Harry told her.

It was almost dinnertime when the two of them finally arrived back in the castle.

"Ginny, would you like to have dinner outside this evening?" asked Harry as they walked towards the kitchens.

"That would be wonderful," replied Ginny.

"Great! I wanted to explore some of the buildings on the grounds and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to have a picnic as it is so warm," Harry told her as they approached Maxim and requested a picnic dinner.

Maxim was happy to prepare the picnic and returned several minutes later with a large basket full of food.

Hand in hand, Harry and Ginny walked down towards one of the larger outhouses. As they got closer they realized that it was actually a stable. They looked around carefully, noticing that while it was currently empty, the elves had done a fantastic job maintaining it.

"This place is amazing, Harry! There must be room for at least twenty horses, maybe more," Ginny said in an excited voice. It was no secret that Ginny had always loved horses and as a kid, had passed the time watching the neighbors pack. She loved to ride, but didn't get many chances any more.

Harry suddenly realized what he could do for Ginny's birthday; he quickly hid that thought behind his door in their mind.

A few minutes later, they settled down on a large blanket and enjoyed the picnic together. When they finished eating, Harry banished the basket back to the castle and they cuddled together as they watched the sunset.

* * *

After breakfast the next morning, Harry and Ginny continued to explore the grounds around the castle. They had not yet approached the forest that surrounded two thirds of the castle and stretched further than the eye could see.

"Harry, we should explore the forest someday," said Ginny as they walked hand in hand around a large lake they had discovered almost a mile away from the castle.

"We should use our Animagus forms to do the exploring," suggested Harry.

"That would be fun. When the others get here, we could explore as a pride," Ginny said in reply as she looked towards the middle of the lake spotting a disturbance in the water.

"It looks like there are fish in the lake," she said spotting one breach the surface.

"We should explore the lake at some point too," Harry said as he followed Ginny's gaze.

They finally arrived back at the castle at lunchtime and settled down to eat on the patio next to the pool. After lunch, Harry asked Ginny if she wanted to play one on one Quidditch for a while.

"Yes, that would be perfect; lets see who the better seeker is!" replied Ginny with a smile.

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Harry asked as he grabbed his broom.

"Yes, I believe it is, Mr. Potter," Ginny replied as she jumped on her broom and sped away.

"And what may I asked will the winner get as a prize?" asked Harry as he released the snitch and chased after her.

Harry blushed at the suggestion that came from Ginny. They spent the next two hours chasing after the snitch, and in the end, they had both caught the snitch the same number of times.

"I guess we are both evenly matched," Ginny said as they walked, hand in hand, back to the castle.

"I guess so," replied Harry.

"That was fun, I cant wait for the others to get here so we can play more often," Ginny said as they walked into the castle.

"I cant wait to claim my prize," Harry said as he pulled Ginny into a passionate kiss.

"Hey, who said you won?" asked Ginny slightly out of breath after their kiss.

"Well, based on the prize you suggested, I didn't think it really matters who won!" replied Harry as he flashed them to the master suite. A few minutes later they were both relaxing in a nice warm bath once again.

Maxim served dinner that evening on the balcony outside their room as they again watched the glorious sunset over the forest. Several times during the evening they spotted Xavier and Fawkes flying together with several other creatures, including, to their surprise, a Hippogriff.

 _A/N: I know some of you are upset with how Ron was dealt with at the end of the last story, remember this is the Wizarding World we are dealing with and they tend to do things slightly different. Also this isn't the end of our journey with Ron, he will pay for what he has done to Harry but I will not say any more yet._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Because of the attack on Harry, the visit to Grunnings had been delayed by several days, as Bill Weasley wanted to make sure Harry was well before proceeding.

He had worked closely with the local police on the case and had arranged everything so that they would be ready when the time came. He had detailed the charges that would be brought against the two employees, and had all the necessary legal paperwork and warrants signed so that even in the Muggle world, the charges could not be contested. They did not want to leave anything to chance.

At nine-thirty, Bill Weasley, Mary Greenback, who had been assigned by the court to oversee the searches and who also held each of the warrants needed, Rebecca Easton, and her assistant Henry Maxwell were present to catalogue and gather any evidence found that could possibly be used to aid the charges against the perpetrators. The four of them were escorted by four uniformed police officers who would be issuing the warrants and making the arrests. The eight of them arrived at the reception of Grunnings Drill Company.

"Good morning, sir," said the receptionist as they entered.

"Good morning, we are here to see Mr. Roberts," explained Bill.

"Do you have an appointment?" queried the receptionist.

"No, we don't. However, we are here on behalf of the owner of the company," Bill told them.

"I am sorry, but Mr. Roberts is busy at the moment. You will need to make an appointment and return when he is free," she replied.

Before Bill could respond, one of the officers approached.

"This is an arrest warrant for Mr. John Roberts, ma'am. Please show us to his office this instant," Officer Jones said as she showed her the paperwork.

"What is going on?" asked the receptionist, obviously concerned.

"Sorry, we cannot discuss that at the moment," replied Bill.

She got up from her desk and escorted them into the main offices. Once they had entered, she told them where Mr. Robert's office was.

"That's strange, normally, his secretary is in the office by now," she commented as they approached the door.

Bill knocked on the door and could hear sounds coming from inside. For some inexplicable reason, the door was locked, which concerned them. Without waiting for a response, Officer Jones forced the door open to find Mr. Roberts in a very compromising position with his secretary.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are to barge into my office like this?!" Mr. Roberts demanded.

"Mr. Roberts, you are under arrest for embezzlement and fraud," said Officer Jones once they were all in the office. "You have the rights to remain silent, for anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law." While he was saying that, Officer Harris was speaking to the secretary to determine what exactly had been going on in the office. It quickly became clear that he had been sexually harassing his secretary, and also threatened to have her sacked and make it almost impossible for her to get another job if she had told anyone.

Bill approached them after hearing the conversation, explaining that the owner of the company was very upset at what had been happening. He asked her if she was interested in pressing charges against Mr. Roberts for what he did to her.

She quickly agreed to press charges, and Officer Harris led her away so that they could get a full statement from her.

Once they had finished talking, Bill returned to speak with Mr. Roberts.

"Mr. Roberts, you have been advised of your rights and the charges have been explained to you. Is there anything else that you would like to add at this time?" asked Bill.

"I don't know what kind of stunt this is, but you will not get away with it," said Mr. Roberts.

"This is no stunt, Mr. Roberts. The owner of the company is well aware of what is going on here today and fully supports it," replied Bill.

"Mr. Roberts, you will be escorted to a waiting police car and taken to the station for questioning," Officer Smith advised him before directing him to leave the room.

Mr. Roberts quickly backed down when he realized that there was nothing he could do. It was obvious that he was not acting appropriately in the office by what going on when they walked in. To make matters worse for him, his wife was soon going to find out, as she was the only one he could contact to bail him out.

Officer Smith escorted Mr. Roberts out of the building while Bill and the others started to search for evidence to back up what they had already found. It wasn't long before they found a hidden section in a desk that contained more than enough evidence to convict both John Roberts and Vernon Dursley. Henry catalogued all the evidence and it was placed in an evidence box.

* * *

Robert Archway had been watching the whole process. Once the officers had completed their search, he was allowed into the office so that he could start working.

As he was settling into his new office, the secretary returned.

"Hello, I am Jane Greenback," she said offering her hand.

"Ms. Greenback, I am Robert Archway," Robert replied shaking her hand.

"Is there anything that I can help you with?" Jane asked.

"Yes, please; with effect from now, I have been installed as the new Managing Director. The officers have one other person to deal with, following which, I would like to call a company meeting to introduce myself and explain what has happened today," Robert told her as he took his seat, offering her one at the same time.

"I can sort out the meeting," Jane replied whilst taking down notes.

"Thank you, Ms. Greenback," replied Robert.

"You're welcome, Mr. Archway. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, would you please give me a tour of the building?" asked Robert.

"Of course, let me send out the email and I will be happy to show you around," Jane said as she got up from her seat.

"Thank you; please ensure that Vernon Dursley does not get the email."

She nodded that she understood and left the office.

* * *

Bill approached an office door that read "Vernon Dursley" in clear lettering. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Come in," came the voice of Vernon.

"Good morning, Mr. Dursley," said Bill as he entered the office, closely followed by officers Harris, Jones and Henry.

"What the hell are you doing here, freak?" shouted Vernon as he spotted Bill walking into the office. They were rather surprised at how fast Vernon managed to get out of his seat when he rounded the desk and lunged at Bill. However, he wasn't fast enough, and Bill managed to step out of the way. Unfortunately for Vernon, due to his size, he wasn't able to stop himself before his fist hit Officer Henry.

The two officers immediately tackled Vernon to the ground, and after a long struggle, they were able to subdue him long enough to place him in cuffs and arrest him.

"Mr. Dursley, you are under arrest for embezzlement, fraud, sexual harassment, and now, assault and battery for attacking a police officer," Officer Jones said before reading him is rights.

"What are you talking about?" asked Vernon, clearly trying to determine just how much they knew.

"Mr. Dursley, we have already arrested Mr. Roberts and have found plenty of evidence of what has been going on here," replied Officer Jones, completely silencing Vernon.

"I bet that brat, Potter, is behind this," said Vernon to no one in particular.

"Who?" asked Bill, wanting to know what Vernon would say.

"Don't play the fool with me; I know perfectly well who owns this company," spat Vernon as he looked at Bill.

"That doesn't excuse your behavior," replied Bill.

Officer Harris escorted Vernon to the waiting car as the others proceeded to search his office, looking for further evidence.

Vernon was not as clever as Roberts had been and they soon found plenty of additional evidence in the office. As before, they cataloged all the evidence and it was added to the growing box of evidence.

As they continued to search the office, Officer Harris' voice came over the radio requesting assistance. Officers Jones and Henry rushed out of the office to assist him while Bill and the others continued searching.

* * *

As the officers arrived outside the building, they found Officer Henry lying on the ground in a pool of blood, with Vernon Dursley nowhere to be found. They quickly checked Officer Henry and determined that he was going to be okay as he slowly came around.

"What happened?" asked Officer Jones.

"As I was placing him in the car he hit me with the door," replied Officer Henry.

"We have called for backup and an ambulance," Officer Jones said, as they started looking around to determine where Vernon could have run off.

"He took my keys," Officer Henry stated after checking his pockets.

A few minutes later, the Ambulance arrived and the paramedic was soon checking Officer Henry over to ensure that he was okay. When backup, arrived they spread out and searched the parking lot, having been told the make, model and registration of Vernon's car.

They soon realized that the car was missing, and immediately informed the station so that they could send cars to Privet Drive, which was the most likely place for Vernon to have gone.

* * *

Back in the office, Bill completed the search and they boxed the rest of the evidence that had been found. He then returned to Mr. Archway's office.

"Robert, we have completed our search and are ready to leave," Bill said as he sat down.

"Thank you, Bill," replied Robert.

"We have found plenty of evidence against each of them. I am certain that now that they have been removed, the company will function well," Bill said.

"Yes, we have arranged a company meeting this afternoon to discuss what has been happening and what changes will be implemented to improve the conditions for everyone."

"I have also checked the network and found additional information that I believe will be useful for the case," Robert said as he presented additional papers to Bill.

"Thank you, I will make sure these are entered into the evidence. There is no doubt in my mind that they are both going away for a long time," Bill said as he stood to leave.

"I will update you next week," Robert said as he shook Bill's hand.

"Thank you. Harry will be pleased to know this has been sorted out," replied Bill before turning around and leaving.

* * *

At Privet Drive, several squad cars arrived and six officers immediately exited the cars and approached the house. One of the officers examined the running car in the driveway and confirmed that it matched the registration number of Mr. Dursley's car. The officer turned off the engine and proceeded to remove the keys. Three of the officers walked down the side passage towards the back while the others three approached the door.

Petunia was upstairs in the master bedroom, frantically packing so they could make a quick getaway. Vernon was downstairs in the kitchen; Dudley was out with his friends but had been told to return home immediately.

The officers were not taking any more chances this time, and once they were all in place, broke down the doors and charged into the house. The three officers who came in the front door quickly headed up the stairs while the officers who came in the back door checked the living room and the surrounding area.

As the second set of officers entered the kitchen, they were confronted by an enraged Vernon Dursley, who had managed to acquire a gun and was brandishing it about. The officers quickly backed out of the door whilst radioing for backup.

Meanwhile, the officers had found Petunia upstairs. As soon as she saw the officers, she warned them that Vernon had a gun. They quietly escorted her out of the house, continually looking out for Vernon to ensure that he did not see them leave. When they were leaving the house, Dudley had just arrived home, looking extremely confused.

"What's going on, Mum?" asked Dudley.

"You father was arrested at work today but tried to escape, and also attacked an officer," whined Petunia bitterly.

"Huh?" asked Dudley intelligently.

"Dudley, it turns out that you father has been stealing from his company. When they came to confront him today, he resisted arrest. As you can see, the police are here; unfortunately, he is currently in the kitchen armed with a gun," Petunia told him.

To everyone's surprise, Dudley walked past the officers, and entered the house before they could do anything.

"Dad, what's going on?" asked Dudley as he walked into the kitchen.

"That brat had me arrested," spat Vernon.

"What are you talking about?" Dudley asked as he surveyed the scene.

"Harry Potter is the owner of my company. I've known for quite some time, and I was only taking what is rightfully ours because of our looking after him for so long!" declared Vernon.

"Dad, are you stupid? There is no reason for you to resist arrest and have a gun," Dudley said.

"Traitor! I would have thought that you would support me," Vernon raged.

"Sorry, Dad, but I cannot support your actions. This is just wrong, and any chances you had of getting off have been completely ruined," Dudley told him in disgust.

Vernon didn't care; there was no way that he was going to let them arrest him. However, he did not count on Dudley's actions. Dudley slowly approached his father, attempting to convince his father that he should just come quietly before anything else happened. Vernon wasn't listening, but also wasn't concentrating on what Dudley was doing, so didn't notice that he was now standing directly behind him.

Meanwhile, outside the back door, the officers had been watching closely to determine what was happening. When they spotted Dudley, they realized that he was either going join his father or do something to stop him. They prepared themselves in case they needed to make a quick entrance into the room.

Vernon slowly turned to face his son, thinking that he was going to stand beside him after all. However, he quickly learned that the boxing lessons Dudley had been having were not wasted. Dudley knocked him out with a swift punch to the nose. As soon as his fist connected and Vernon fell backwards, the officers rushed into the room, grabbed the gun, and cuffed Vernon.

"Thank you," said one of the relieved officers to Dudley.

"You're welcome, Officer," replied Dudley who was still in shock over what had happened.

"That was rather dangerous, young man," continued the Officer.

"I was counting on the element of surprise. I guess he expected me to support him," Dudley told the Officer.

An ambulance had arrived on the scene after the call went out that Vernon had a gun. Once the officers confirmed the house had been secured and all those inside accounted for, the paramedics entered the house and checked Vernon. After confirming that he would be okay, they quickly revived him with smelling salts. They officers again read him his rights and explained that additional charges would be brought against him for his actions.

Vernon was escorted out of the house by armed officers who had arrived at the scene moments after Dudley had knocked him out.

* * *

That same afternoon, Vernon Dursley appeared in court for his arraignment.

"All rise," the court officer said as the judge entered and took his seat.

"Please be seated," he continued after the judge had settled in his seat.

"Mr. Vernon Dursley, you have been charged as follows: Embezzlement, fraud, sexual harassment, resisting arrest, possession of an illegal firearm, and assaulting an officer. How do you plead?" asked the judge.

"Not guilty," replied Vernon in a clear confident voice.

"The prosecution has requested that Mr. Dursley be remanded in custody until his trial. Please present your case," the Judge asked.

"Your honour, the evidence against Mr. Dursley is clear, and due to the nature of his actions and the charges leveled against him, we believe he presents a flight risk and also a danger to Mr. Potter," explained the solicitor. He then went on to explain the basis of the case, including details of witnesses and other evidence that clearly showed Vernon was guilty.

Once he had concluded his speech, the judge asked the defense to make their case. They stated that Vernon had been a good loyal employee and was being victimized because his nephew owned the company and was known to hate him.

The judge considered all the information that had been presented, and it was clear that he had no choice but to accede to the request of the Prosecution.

"Mr. Vernon Dursley, based on the information provided today, and as a result of your own actions, it is the decision of this court that you will be remanded in custody until your case is heard before this court. Officer, please escort Mr. Dursley down to the cells," the Judge finished, before rising from his seat and exiting the room.

Vernon was taken away without any fuss. The fact that his own wife and son had refused to attend the arraignment told him just how much damage he had done. He just hoped that the solicitor would find something that would allow him to get off. Thankfully, his sister Marge had a large sum of money, and was arranging for the best legal defense possible.

* * *

Bill left the courtroom after Vernon was taken away, and immediately headed to Potter Castle to deliver the news to Harry.

"Hey Bill, how did it go?" asked Harry.

"It was certainly eventful, Harry. Your uncle did not take kindly to being arrested and attacked two officers, proceeded to escape to Privet Drive and also brandished a gun around. He has been denied bail and will have to stay in prison until the trial. However, the most surprising thing that happened was the fact that Dudley was the one who ended the stand off; he attacked his own father," Bill explained.

Harry was shocked. In all the years that he had been with the Dursleys', Dudley had always taken his parents' side. He sat down on the couch considering what Bill had just told them.

"Well, that's certainly unexpected," said Harry after a moment of thought.

"Yes, it seems that your Aunt wasn't happy with Vernon either. She told the officers he had the gun and didn't even appear in court for his arraignment," Bill replied.

"I will need to think about this more," Harry said.

They spoke for several hours about the events of the day. Bill told them about the additional evidence that had been found and charges that would be brought against both men.

Bill finished by explaining that Mr. Archway was already actively making changes to the company and held a staff meeting to explain what had happened.

"Thank you, Bill," said Harry as they got up.

"You're welcome, Harry. I have no doubts that this case will be over quickly; we have followed guidelines to the letter and I doubt they will find anything out of place," Bill said as he pulled Harry into a hug.

"Before you leave, do you think it okay if I visited Petunia and Dudley?" asked Harry.

"I don't see that being a problem, but be careful, just in case," Bill told him as he approached the fireplace and grabbed some Floo powder.

"Thanks, Bill," Harry said as Bill entered the fire and was gone.

Harry and Ginny made their way up to bed feeling much more relaxed than they had all day. They quickly fell asleep in each other's arms as they had grown accustomed to doing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

In all the excitement encompassing the last couple of days, Harry and Ginny had forgotten to visit the portraits of James and Lily. They decided that after breakfast that morning, they would visit and spend some time with them.

When they finished breakfast, they headed to the main sitting room. Before entering they were both a little nervous - Ginny was worried that they wouldn't like her and Harry was worried about how they would react to everything that had happened.

Finally, they got up the nerve and entered the room; they quickly spotted the portraits hanging above the fireplace and gasped.

Except for the eyes, which were clearly from Lily, Harry was a spitting image of his father, right down to the smallest detail. What amazed them more was the fact that Ginny looked like a younger version of Lily.

They slowly approached the portraits before speaking. Harry already had tears flowing down his face; he had only seen a few pictures of them before, and finally being able to talk to them, even if they were just portraits, was more then he ever hoped for. Ginny gently rubbed his back as she comforted him through the bond.

"Harry, is that really you?" asked Lily cautiously as they approached.

"Hello, mum," replied Harry nervously.

"It really is you," whispered Lily, as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Yes, it really is me," Harry said as he smiled up at her.

"And this must be Ginny?" Lily inquired.

"Hello, Mrs. Potter," replied Ginny quietly.

"Well, hello to you too, Mrs. Potter," Lily responded, causing them both to smile.

James had not said anything While Lily was talking - he was too shocked at seeing his son, almost a miniature version of himself, to say anything.

"Harry," said James a few seconds later when he realized all of them were looking at him.

"Hello, dad," replied Harry.

"Wow, Molly was right; you two do look a lot like us at your age. That IS a little scary, to be honest," said James.

"You haven't seen Harry for thirteen years and that is the first thing you say to him," said Lily before looking away from him in disgust.

"What did you expect me to say?" teased James as he walked into her portrait.

"Well, you could have asked him how he was doing," Lily said.

"Have you asked him yet?" James replied.

Harry and Ginny watched in amusement at the scene that was unfolding before them. It filled Harry's heart to see them, even if they were fighting. Deciding that this fight would probably take some time, he sat down in the nearest chair and pull Ginny into his lap. They soon lost themselves in a passionate kiss.

When it appeared that neither of them was willing to let the other win the argument, Harry let off a small firecracker firework to get their attention.

"Do you want us to come back later after you've finished fighting?" asked Harry with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, great; he takes after you," said Lily.

"More like after you," replied James smugly.

As they looked ready to start yet another argument, Harry stopped them by adding, "Did you always fight like this?"

"Not all the time," replied Lily looking apologetic.

Harry was happy to learn a little more about his parents, even if it was that they used to fight. If he was honest with himself, he could see why. He could see that his father was just as stubborn as he was and mother had a fiery temper just like Ginny.

Before he could continue that line of thought, Ginny turned to him and kissed him very passionately. He wasn't complaining, but he wasn't certain what had earned him that reward.

"Okay, Harry, you stopped us fighting, and While we are happy you love Ginny, we don't really want to sit here and watch you snog her senseless," stated James.

"Harry, can you tell us about the bond?" asked Lily, once they had finally come up for air.

Harry and Ginny then proceeded to tell them everything they knew about the bond - the abilities that it gave them, especially how they were able to protect each other with an impenetrable shield. They also told them about what they had learned from Merlin's memories and the complete shock at finding out how much money they had inherited. James and Lily sat there absorbing everything that Harry and Ginny were saying. They occasionally asked questions which were quickly answered.

"Its just so amazing," Harry said as he finished explaining.

"Yes, it is," added Ginny.

"I first heard the story about Harry when I was five years old. Over the years, it was the only story that I heard regularly and I used to dream that one day I would meet the famous Harry Potter, and he would fall in love with me. When we first met it wasn't anything like I imagined. I didn't even know who he was; and then when I found out, I tried to chase the train to see him. The second time I saw him was just as bad, I literally ran out of the kitchen and didn't say a word to Harry for the rest of the summer. Ten months later, I woke up in his arms, him having just killed a Basilisk and the ghost of Voldemort who had possessed me. Thats when I truly fell in love with Harry, but he didn't seem to notice me. I found out later that my brother Ron had been basically brainwashing Harry into only thinking of me as his baby sister."

Ginny proceeded to tell them more about how she had felt towards Harry, and just how frustrating it was to feel that he would never return those feelings.

"Everything changed last year; I had noticed that Harry was spending a lot more time watching me and including me in the activities. I could see that it was annoying Ron that I was around and that Harry was trying desperately to include me without making it obvious that he was.

"Then finally, Professor Dumbledore announced that they were having the Yule Ball for fourth years and above, where younger students could attend if invited by an older student. I was hoping with all my heart that Harry would ask me - I wasn't sure if he would and, when he rushed out of the Great Hall after breakfast, my heart started to crumble."

"Oh, Ginny, why-"

"Hush! However, that was soon fixed when Harry pulled me to one side and asked me to the ball, and that he wanted to keep it a complete secret until the day."

Lily beamed at her son with pride after hearing that.

"It gets better," continued Ginny.

"Over the weeks leading up to the ball, Harry sent several beautiful gifts and each one was accompanied with a note," Ginny said as she held up the bracelet for them to see.

"I have NO clue where you got your romantic side. But I know it definitely wasn't from your father!" Lily said with a straight face.

The three of them laughed as James tried to look as if he was mortally wounded by Lilys words. Ginny proceeded to tell them the rest of the story about the ball and what had happened, and about the dance lessons and how much it meant to her that Harry had gone to such lengths to please her.

As they continued to talk, Maxim appeared in the room and served them lunch. After lunch, they settled back down on the couch and continued to talk.

"Harry, we want you to know that we love you very much and were very sorry that we couldn't be there for you as you grew up," James said once they were comfortable.

"Ive grown to love you very much as well; it was only recently that I started to understand what true love is. I'm sure that I still wouldn't fully understand it if it hadn't been for the bond with Ginny," replied Harry as he put his arm around Ginny.

"Molly didn't feel that it was her place to tell us about your life before you bonded with Ginny, but I could tell from her reaction that she wasn't happy about it. And from the comment you just made, it would seems that there are some things that we need to discuss," said Lily as tears started forming in her eyes.

"I don't even know where to start," Harry said as he looked up at his parents.

"Where did you live when you grew up?" asked Lily.

"At the Dursley's," replied Harry hesitantly.

"WHAT?! WE MADE IT VERY CLEAR TO DUMBLEDORE THAT YOU WERE NOT TO GO THERE IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO US," screeched Lily at his response.

There was nothing Harry could say to that. He knew she was telling the truth as he had seen it in Dumbledore's memories earlier in the year.

"Please tell me that they at least treated you well," asked Lily dreading the answer.

Harry closed his eyes and replied, not wanting to see their reaction. "I cant tell you that, Mum. They told me that you had been killed in a car crash which was how I got the scar..."

Lily was visibly shaken when she heard that, but before she could even say anything Harry continued.

"...They never liked me and life was like being their slave, living in a cupboard under the stairs until I was eleven..."

James was just as shaken now, as they could both see the truth in Harry's words.

"...The worst thing was the continuous beatings for my unnaturalness or whenever something strange happened. I didn't learn until later it was most likely accidental magic." Harry and Ginny both had tears rolling down their cheeks as they remembered scenes from his past.

Lily was horrified by the time Harry had finished talking. When she looked down at Ginny and saw the sadness in her face she knew that every word her son had uttered was, without a doubt, true.

"I'm so sorry that you had to live like that, Harry," said Lily, in tears.

"It wasn't your fault, mum," replied Harry.

James comforted her as best he could while attempting to control his own anger at what he had heard. It took quite a long time for Lily to finally stop crying.

"Still, that doesn't excuse them for what they did to you Harry. I know its going to be hard, but please, can you tell us about your life at the Dursley's?" asked Lily when she had calmed down.

Harry proceeded to tell them everything about his life before he met Hagrid. He told them how he had been forced to cook for them and then was fed minimal amounts of food, how he had to do all the chores around the house while the others did nothing, and how he would be beaten for doing better than Dudley at anything. Harry continued for several hours, bringing tears to his parents eyes by the end of it.

For Harry, however, it felt like a great weight had lifted off his shoulders. By forcing himself to tell them everything, he could finally face the truth of what had happened to him.

Without caring that his parents were still watching, he pulled Ginny down into another very passionate kiss. When they finally surfaced for air, he told her just how important she was to him and how much her love had helped him overcome what the Dursleys had done to him.

"Thank you, Harry," said Ginny when he had finished talking.

"Its me who should be thanking you, Ginny," replied Harry.

"We thank you too, Ginny. It is clear from what we have already seen of yo, that you have made our son very happy," Lily added.

"You're welcome," Ginny replied as she looked up at her in-laws with a smile.

Harry turned his head back towards his parents before saying, "There is some good news for you relating to the Dursley's."

"After what you have just told us how can there be anything good?" asked James.

"Well, after we bonded, we found out about all of the inheritances and that was when I found out I was the owner of Grunnings, where Vernon works. With the help of the Goblins and Bill Weasley, Ginny's oldest brother, we were able to determine that Vernon had been stealing from the company," explained Harry with Ginny still sitting in his lap.

"I see, so what is being done about it?" James asked while watching his son intently.

"He was arrested yesterday; the fool resisted arrest and in the process attacked two officers. And then to top that off, when he got home he pulled out a gun and was waving it around," Harry said while laughing to himself.

"I never did understand what Petunia ever saw in him," said Lily.

"I don't know, but we also found out that Dudley was the one who actually disarmed Vernon. We haven't spoken to him yet but it was a real surprise; we are planning to visit Petunia and Dudley soon to talk," Harry told them.

They continued to talk about the Dursleys and what would happen next. Harry could tell that his parents were very upset at what they had learned, so decided it was a good time to leave them to think.

Harry promised that they would be back in the morning. They both headed to their balcony for dinner and a quiet evening relaxing in their room.

* * *

The next morning, Harry and Ginny returned to speak to his parents.

"Good morning," Harry said as they entered the room.

"Morning, Harry," his parents replied.

"Harry, could you tell us more about the confrontations you have had with Voldemort?" asked James.

"Okay, it all started in my first year; Professor Dumbledore had hidden the Philosopher's Stone in the castle to protect it. Unfortunately, one of the Professors had been possessed by Voldemort and attempted to steal it. With the help of Ron and Hermione, we were able to stop him from stealing it. The protection that you gave m, caused the professor to die when he attempted to kill me."

Before proceeding he looked at Ginny to see if she was worried about the next part of the story. She smiled at him confirming that she was okay with him telling them; after all she had already mentioned some of it yesterday.

"The next year was even worse. Lucius Malfoy had placed a cursed diary in Ginny's cauldron. The diary possessed Ginny, causing her to do things that she could not remember later. Unfortunately, none of us noticed what was happening to her. Several people around the school had been petrified. When she was taken down to the chamber, there was no other option. Professor Lockhart was a complete fraud and when we heard that he was supposed to be helping her, we went to talk to him and found him attempting to escape. Ron and I worked out where the chamber was and headed down to help Ginny.

"While we were down there, Lockhart tried to Obliviate us. However, he used Ron's broken wand and ended up cursing himself and blowing up the tunnel. I then faced Tom Riddle and discovered that a Basilisk had been attacking the students. I used Gryffindor's sword to kill it and then destroyed the diary."

"Did you ever work out what the Diary was?" asked Lily.

"No, we just knew that it contained the memories of Tom Riddle," replied Harry.

"From what you have described, it sounds like it was a Horcrux," said Lily.

"What is a Horcrux?" asked Harry.

"It is the darkest magic known to wizardkind. Basically, someone can split their soul and store it in an object if they kill someone and perform a ritual," Lily informed them them looking very concerned.

"So, it was actually Voldemort's soul that possessed Ginny?" asked Harry again, shocked.

"Yes, it would appear so," Lily replied. "It is critical that you tell Dumbledore about this."

"How do you know about them?" Harry asked as he comforted Ginny, who was crying after having heard what really happened to her.

"I was an unspeakable," Lily told them.

They continued to talk about the Horcruxes and what the implications of it meant for their future. The fact was that even though the diary was destroyed, Tom still managed to come back, which had to mean that he had created more than one Horcrux.

Harry proceeded to tell them about the other confrontation with Voldemort and about the battle at the graveyard. Once they had finished discussing all the different confrontations, Lily asked Harry to visit Dumbledore immediately.

* * *

Harry and Ginny had a quick lunch and then headed to the library to see if there were any books on Horcruxes. Using the indexing system, they were only able to find one book that even mentioned Horcruxes. It told them what the impact of performing the ritual would have on the person who split their soul, which was why most recorded incidents had only involved a single split. However, it was possible to do it any number of times.

Harry used a copy spell that he had learned to duplicate the book so they could leave one with Professor Dumbledore.

Once they had memorized the information, they both transformed and flashed directly to the Professors office.

"Good afternoon," Professor Dumbledore said after they transformed back into themselves.

"Good afternoon, Professor," they greeted him while sitting down in the seats offered.

"I take it from your note that you have something important to discuss," Dumbledore said as he watched them closely.

"Yes, Professor," replied Harry.

"Please, Harry, you can call me Albus when we are alone. You have certainly earned the right. That applies to both of you," Dumbledore said.

"That will take some getting used to, Albus," Harry said.

"We were talking to the portraits of my parents today when we told them what happened in my second year. After we described what the Diary did, my mum mentioned something she had learned about when she was an unspeakable. She believed that the diary was actually a Horcrux," Harry explained.

The normal twinkle disappeared from Dumbledore's eyes at the mention of Horcrux. It was obvious that he had heard about them at least, they just didnt know how much he really knew.

"I have heard of them before," Dumbledore told them. "However I have never found much information about them."

Harry pulled out the book that he had in his pocket and enlarged it.

"We found this in the library at Potter Castle," Harry told him as he presented the book.

"It goes into a lot of detail regarding the process. We have also concluded that Tom must have created more than one Horcrux, otherwise he should not have been able to come back when he did," Harry explained.

"Thank you. do you mind if I keep this?" pressed Dumbledore.

"Not at all. We made this copy for you."

They continued to talk about the Horcruxes, it soon became clear to the three of them that the only way to finally get rid of Tom would be to find out how many of them there were, and make sure each one was destroyed. Thankfully, the book also contained a lot of information on how they could be destroyed without endangering anyone.

Before they left, Dumbledore told them that he would start researching what Tom could have used for the Horcruxes and where they could have been. He would contact them if he managed to unearth anything important.

Before they left, Dumbledore said, "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about this."

"It was my mothers request that we talk to you. Even after she found out that you placed me at the Dursley's," replied Harry.

They both noticed the wince that passed Dumbledore's face at hearing why they had come. There was nothing that he could say to correct his past mistakes and chose wisely to say nothing. He hoped that he did not have to enter Potter Castle anytime soon, lest he be subjected to the wrath of Lily Potter.

* * *

After Harry and Ginny returned to Potter Castle, they decided to spend time by the pool relaxing. It wasn't long before Ginny was sitting in Harry's lap kissing him; the rest of the afternoon soon flew by as they spent time together.

After dinner, they returned to the sitting room to talk with his parents. Harry told them what they had learned about Fudge and the bribes that he had been taking. He explained that the Goblins and Bill were helping build a case against Fudge so they could remove him from office if they needed to, and a while later, ended the evening by asking James about Snape. At first, James was reluctant to say anything but then Harry told them about seeing everything in his memories. James admitted that they had treated Snape badly.

Before they could leave, James asked how they could possibly have seen Snape's memories as he was the second best Occlumens they had known. Harry told them that when they worked together they could break through any shield, and after Snape and Dumbledore attacked them in his office, how they retaliated. It wasn't long before they were explaining exactly what happened, which angered both his parents very much.

"To think that we trusted him," said Lily later after Harry and Ginny had left for bed.

"He has a lot of explaining to do," James said in reply.

"I am just glad that they found each other so soon, I honestly expected it to take longer," Lily stated.

"I guess he wasn't quite as bad as his dad," joked James.

"No, it would have been a lost cause if he had been," laughed Lily.

James turned his back on Lily in a huff and sat down ignoring her for the rest of the evening.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

At breakfast the next morning, Harry turned to Ginny and said, "I'm going to contact Sirius and Remus today and invite them to the castle."

"Great, I can't wait to see Sirius again!" said an excited Ginny. "Do you think they'll be able to come soon?"

"I'm sure that they'll be able to. I'm hoping that they'll be able to come before the full moon, so that we can help monitor the new potion."

"That's a brilliant idea, Harry! I'm sure that it'll be fine, but being able to monitor will allow us to determine if there are any changes that need to be made..." Ginny said before drinking her pumpkin juice.

They continued to eat breakfast heartily, having used a lot of energy that morning on their run. They had restarted their running that morning and pushed themselves hard to get back into it quickly.

"When are we going to invite the others?" asked Ginny.

"I think it would be wiser to wait until after the full moon. If anything goes wrong, it would be better to have fewer people here. Also, it will give us some time with Sirius before the others arrive," replied Harry.

After breakfast, Harry flashed directly to the kitchen in Grimmauld Place. He wasn't expecting anyone to be up yet despite the time, as he knew just how lazy his godfather could be. He was surprised to see Sirius standing at the stove cooking.

"Good morning, Sirius," Harry said, startling Sirius, who spun around so quickly that he knocked the pan and sent it flying across the room. His wand was pointing directly at Harry when he finished spinning.

"Bloody hell, Harry," shouted Sirius after lowering his wand.

"It's good to see you too," replied Harry sarcastically.

Sirius pulled Harry into a hug. "So, how are you doing, Harry?"

Sirius quickly cleaned up the spilt food and started to prepare some more.

"Better now, thanks; Ron decided to attack me again," replied Harry.

"WHAT?! Why did this happen again, and why didn't I know about it?" exclaimed Sirius with concern.

"I guess he didn't like the fact that Ginny and I were moving to Potter Castle together," replied Harry.

Harry continued to explain exactly what had happened. Sirius was livid by the time Harry had finished and swore that he get back at Ron if he ever saw him again. Harry had to beg him not to do anything over the top as he didn't want to hurt the Weasleys.

"Anyway, Sirius, the reason I came was to invite you and Remus to the castle for the summer," explained Harry.

"Sure thing, kiddo, I can't wait to see the place. Your dad never got a chance to take us there. I'm sure he would have done if the situation had been different," replied Sirius as he continued to cook the food without really concentrating on what he was doing.

"Great, do you think Remus will want to come as well?" asked Harry as he backed away from the stove when he noticed the food was starting to burn.

"I would think so, although he may want to invite someone else as well," replied Sirius with a mischievous look on his face.

Unfortunately, he had not noticed the food was burning and shortly after a small fire broke out on the stove. Sirius quickly put out the flames with his wand and threw the pan in the sink in exasperation, deciding that it was a lost cause.

"Oh, and who might that be?" asked Harry, having seen the look.

"Although he denies anything is happening, my cousin Tonks has been visiting a lot more recently. I've hardly seen her when I'm in the house so that can only mean she's here to see him," replied Sirius with a smirk.

"Well, that's certainly interesting, and I certainly don't have a problem with her coming too. However, I'll need to test her Occlumency skills..." Harry trailed off, engrossed in formulating a plan that would completely embarrass Remus.

They went off in search of Remus and finally found him in the library with Tonks.

"So, Remus, old boy, still denying anything is going on between you two?" asked Sirius as they both blushed.

Remus was about to respond when he spotted Harry laughing behind Sirius.

"Good morning, Harry," Remus said with a smile.

"So I guess what Sirius has been telling me is true?" replied Harry.

"Oh, do shut up, won't you," replied Remus.

"Anyway, I came to invite you and Sirius to spend the summer at Potter Castle. We hoped that you would be able to come before the full moon so that we can monitor the effects of the potion. Then after that, we're going to spend the time training and learning as much as possible," explained Harry.

Tonks just sat there staring at Harry; she could not believe he had spoken to Remus and Sirius in that manner. She was about to say something when Remus mouthed that he would explain later.

Harry then turned to Tonks while Remus continued to consider what Harry had said.

"I would be happy to invite you too, Tonks. However, I'm going to need to test your Occlumency shields. It will be good to have an Auror to help us train, and I think Ginny would welcome the company," Harry said.

' _Too bloody right I will,_ ' came Ginny's voice over the bond.

' _Language, dear,_ ' replied Harry, laughing.

' _Shut it, Potter, or I'll introduce you to some bats when you get back._ '

' _Yes, dear._ '

' _And don't you dare say 'yes dear' again, Potter,_ ' replied Ginny.

' _Yes dear,_ ' replied Harry in a bored tone before laughing.

' _Just you wait until you get back here, darling,_ ' Ginny said before hiding what she was planning from him.

' _I'm looking forward to it,_ ' Harry said, as he sent her an image that caused them both to blush.

' _One of these days I'm going to hold you to these promises,_ ' Ginny responded.

' _You won't find me complaining,_ ' Harry said, before blushing again.

Remus and Tonks discussed Harry's offer for a while and then responded that they would be happy to join them. Harry was thrilled as the castle would not feel so empty, and once the others arrived, it would really feel like home. However, Harry still considered Hogwarts to be his first 'real' home.

Harry asked Tonks if he could test her shields, and she was happy to comply. Harry spent a few minutes testing her before declaring that her shields were strong and they would not have to worry about teaching her. He then told them that he would be back tomorrow morning to take them to the castle. Unfortunately, they would not be able to use the Floo until they had actually been in the castle due to the additional wards that Xavier had added.

When Harry returned to the castle, he found a very excited Ginny, who had been working on decorating the master bedroom while he was away.

"I see that you've been busy," Harry said as he came into the room and looked around.

"Yes, do you like it, Harry?" asked Ginny.

She had transformed the room to perfectly match their tastes. The walls were now painted a light green; the curtains had been replaced with a lighter material and a much deeper shade of green. Along the bottom of each curtain, a Stag and a Doe frolicked around.

"It's perfect, Ginny," replied Harry as he pulled her into a long and passionate kiss.

"I'm glad you like it, Harry. I also worked on your side of the walk in closet. I hope you don't mind," Ginny said with just the tiniest hint of mischief in her voice.

"I'm sure that it's fine, Ginny," Harry said as he walked towards the closet. What greeted him, however, was the vilest pink color he had ever seen.

"What the bloody hell," started Harry when he suddenly realized this was payback for earlier.

Ginny was laughing so hard at his reaction that she didn't notice him approaching her until it was too late to escape. However, instead of tickling her, he pulled her into another passionate kiss and pulled her down onto the bed. As they were kissing, Harry's hands started exploring once again, and he was rather shocked to find that Ginny was not wearing a bra.

Several hours later, the two finally left the bedroom having thoroughly enjoyed their time together.

"So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" asked Harry, as they walked down to the kitchen to get a snack.

"I was hoping that we could spend some time exploring the forest in our Lion and Phoenix forms," replied Ginny.

"Great plan," Harry said as he grabbed some food from the pantry. Maxim tried to serve them, but Harry told him that they just wanted a snack and that it was okay.

After they ate, they both walked out to the grounds and transformed into their Phoenix forms and started to fly towards the forest. As they flew, they practiced their "short range flashing", as they called it. They wanted to see if they could do it almost instantly and without causing a large flash.

' _Almost, Ginny,_ ' said Harry when she reappeared after another attempt. ' _That flash is still there, though it was so small I almost missed it,_ ' he continued.

As they continued to practice, Xavier and Fawkes appeared next to them.

' _Good morning,_ ' Xavier said.

' _Good morning,_ ' they both replied.

' _We wanted to continue your Phoenix training since you are already practicing,_ ' explained Xavier.

Over the next three hours, Xavier explained to Harry and Ginny how to use their Phoenix magic to search for people or animals. During the training, they discovered a number of different magical animals in the forest and decided that they would make contact with them over the summer in their Lion forms.

Towards the edge of the forest, about twenty miles from the castle, Ginny spotted a lone rat. At first, she didn't make anything of it, but then realized that rats never traveled alone and became wary. She flew down towards the rat with Harry in close pursuit, having also seen what she had.

Suddenly, the rat transformed into Peter Pettigrew, who attempted to fire a Killing Curse at the Phoenixes approaching him. Harry flashed directly in front of Peter, transformed into his Lion form, and attacked him. The force of Harry landing on Peter, with his claws bared, killed him instantly. Harry, however, was so angry that he was even out of Azkaban and had the temerity to attack Ginny, that he continued attacking his body until Ginny was able to push him off.

' _Harry! You have to calm down,_ ' Ginny said as she rolled with him for several minutes. She knew that he would never hurt her regardless of what form they were in, so she pinned him to the ground.

She could feel a flood of emotions rolling over Harry.

' _It's not your fault; he shouldn't have been out of Azkaban._ '

' _I know, it's just that I've never killed anyone like that before. It was a shock,_ ' replied Harry, as he finally calmed down enough such that Ginny let him up.

' _Why was he here? Surely he doesn't know about Potter Castle?_ ' asked Ginny.

' _I don't know, but at least he can't tell anyone else and won't be a problem in the future,_ ' replied Harry.

' _What are we going to do with the body?_ ' asked Ginny.

' _I know exactly what to do with it,_ ' replied Harry as he transformed back to his Phoenix form and disappeared with it.

Ginny returned to the castle to wait for Harry. She had seen in his mind what he was planning, and felt that it was rather appropriate.

* * *

The next morning, Harry flashed to Grimmauld Place to pick up Sirius, Remus and Tonks.

"Good morning," Harry said as he arrived. The three of them were sitting at the table, staring at the paper.

"Have you seen this, Harry?" asked Sirius as he threw the paper to him. The headlines screamed:

 ** _Body of notorious Death Eater mysteriously appears on Minister's Desk!  
\- By Rita Skeeter_**

Late yesterday evening, the mauled, mangled and mutilated body of one Peter Pettigrew was found on the desk of Cornelius Fudge, Minister For Magic. The issue of Peter Pettigrew having gotten out of Azkaban is probably the most damning evidence of our Ministry's lack of aptitude, but the Ministry has been unable to pin the blame on anyone thus far.

Up until now, the Ministry has been unable to dig out the reason as to how Peter Pettigrew managed to escape from Azkaban in the first place. However, one must remember that for fourteen entire years, the Ministry was unable to realize that Sirius Black, ex-convict turned genial godfather, was never guilty of the crimes or the maledictions that the Ministry had placed upon his shoulders, and was never ever given a true trial before. This is just one more example over the many years of the Ministry's gross incompetence.

Sirius Black spent thirteen years wrongly imprisoned for the crime of killing thirteen people, twelve Muggle and one wizard. However, Peter Pettigrew was the one that had killed these twelve, and it is appallingly atrocious that the Ministry, then also led by Cornelius Fudge, was not able to figure out the true identity of this malevolent murderer. When questioned, the Minister simply stated that he had not been informed of a breakout and was launching an "in-depth investigation into the matter".

This whole affair has raised a number of questions about the security at Azkaban. The Ministry is refusing to answer the allegations, stating that it would further compromise security if they were to discuss what actions they are going to take. However, the main question for the Ministry is whether our young today are safe from the malevolent menaces that have been imprisoned in Azkaban until this very day.

One has escaped. How many others will?

\- Rita Skeeter

Harry reached the end of the article and let out the smallest of sighs. It still bothered him that he had killed Peter, even though he knew it had to be done. However, he knew that this was going to cause even more problems for the Minister, which was why he had done it in the first place.

"You did that, didn't you?" asked Sirius, having spotted the sad expression that had flitted across Harry's face as he read the article.

"Yes," replied Harry.

"From what Remus has told me, he deserved it, Harry," said Tonks as she got up to comfort Harry.

"Explain," said Sirius, slightly concerned by it all.

Harry went on to explain what had happened. He told them that it felt disturbing to kill Pettigrew initially, but afterwards realized that it was better than allowing Peter to tell anyone that he had seen not one, but two phoenixes. There was only one known Phoenix in England, so word that two were spotted near the forest would have brought unwanted attention. Using a memory charm would have raised questions as well as to why there were blank spots in his memory.

When they were ready, Harry told them that he would transform and then flash them all to the castle. He called for Maxim before leaving, and a moment later Maxim appeared in the room.

"You called for me, Harry?" asked Maxim.

"Yes, Maxim. Could you please take this luggage to Potter Castle?" Harry asked, then turned to Remus with a wicked glint in his eye.

"Remus, will you and Tonks be sharing a room?" inquired Harry daringly.

The reaction was spectacular; Sirius fell off his chair with laughter, Tonks blushed so badly that she could have passed for a Weasley, and Remus couldn't speak because he was too embarrassed.

Harry stood there for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter, "I'm sorry, Remus, it was just too tempting to resist."

Remus and Tonks just glared at him while Sirius just rolled on the floor, laughing. Over the bond, Ginny wasn't doing much better as she, too, was roaring with laughter.

Harry turned to Maxim and could have sworn he had seen him laughing too, "Maxim, please set up three rooms next to each other for them."

"Yes, Harry, they will be ready shortly," replied Maxim.

Moments later, Maxim disappeared with the luggage. Sirius had finally picked himself up from the floor. Harry explained that they would all need to grab a tail feather or each other so that he could flash them to the castle. Once they did, Harry flashed them to the Castle, and they all arrived in the large main entryway where Ginny was waiting for them.

"Welcome to Potter Castle, home of Lord and Lady Potter," said Ginny in a formal voice before laughing and hugging Tonks.

"I'm so glad that you came," Ginny told Tonks as they hugged.

"No problem, I'm looking forward to gossiping about these boys," Tonks replied as she looked towards the boys.

"Oh, I'm sure there's plenty to talk about," replied Ginny.

"Oh, great!" said Harry. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

This caused all of them to burst out laughing again. Harry and Ginny took them all on a tour of the castle which took the rest of the morning. Maxim had prepared them all a wonderful lunch, which they decided to have outside on the large patio area.

"Wow, this place really is amazing," Sirius said as they ate.

"Yes, it is. There's another room that I want to show you and Remus later, I think you'll like what's in there," Harry told him.

Harry promised to take them to the room after lunch; he knew that Ginny and Tonks would be talking for most of the afternoon so he would be free.

* * *

They quickly finished lunch and Harry took Sirius and Remus to see the portraits of his parents.

As soon as he opened the door to the room, both men gasped when they saw the portraits in front of them.

"Where did you find these," asked Sirius.

"To be honest, I don't know. Molly found them while exploring the castle," replied Harry.

"I thought these were lost when the house at Godric's Hollow was destroyed," Sirius explained as he approached them.

"It must have been the house-elves," Harry told him after considering it for a moment.

"Yes, it was," came a voice that Sirius and Remus had not heard for thirteen years.

"James," they both said as they looked up at the portrait.

"Yes, my friends. It has been a long time, but we're here now," replied James.

"Before you say anything, Sirius, we don't blame you for what happened to Harry," continued James.

"Harry told us everything; therefore, we know that you were in prison for most of his life," Lily added.

"Thank you, you can't imagine how bad I felt when I found out what had happened to Harry. I'm just glad that they're being dealt with now," Sirius said with sadness in his eyes.

"From what Harry told us, it doesn't matter anymore. Vernon has been arrested and the number of charges and evidence almost guarantee that he will not be out any time within... say, the next hundred years," said Lily in a calm deadly voice.

"However, I still need some help in dealing with my sister. I just haven't decided how best to do it yet," she continued.

Before Lily could go off on one of her rants, James quickly changed subjects. "Remus, how are you? Harry here tells me that there is a potion that will stop your transformations."

"Yes, we should know for certain if it works in a couple of days. I don't doubt that it will, but you can never tell," replied Remus, with a hint of smile.

"I'm so pleased that they have found something that could help you," added Lily as she looked down fondly upon Remus.

"So, do either of you reprobates have a wife or girlfriend?" asked James.

Neither of them answered, but James could tell from the reaction from Remus that he was at least close to the truth. He didn't push further as he knew that was always an area of concern for Remus.

The four friends continued to chat for most of the afternoon - after being apart for thirteen years, they had much to catch up on. Both James and Lily were very happy that they would be training the kids over the summer.

* * *

While Sirius and Remus talked with his parents, Harry decided to explore the castle a little more. He had seen most of it during the time they were there but had not really explored all the rooms.

As he was heading up towards the master suite, he spotted a door that he had not seen before. As he approached the door, he felt magic sweep over him. It almost felt as if the castle were testing him. When it had finished, the door opened to reveal a study. Harry walked in slowly, and found a reasonably sized study, although not as large as the founder's study at Hogwarts. It had two desks facing each other and a large couch in front of the fireplace. On the wall opposite the door was a large portrait of Godric Gryffindor, who it seemed had been waiting for Harry to arrive.

"Welcome to my study," Godric said.

"Thank you," replied Harry as he studied the list of books on the shelves. One in particular caught his attention as it looked identical to the index book in the main library.

"That is linked to the main library," Godric explained when he saw Harry looking at it closely.

"I set this study up to be a place of sanctuary. Only you and Ginny will be able to enter this room. The castle itself controls the wards around the room, which was the surge of magic you felt when you approached," Godric explained.

"Why didn't I see the door before today?" asked Harry.

This room has always been here. You just didn't search properly enough," Godric replied with a smile.

They continued to talk for several hours about what had happened since the end of term. Ginny joined them when she and Tonks had run out of things to say. Godric told them that he would be around the castle from time to time, but if they ever needed him, all they needed to do was to come to the study and tap the portrait with his wand, and he would return.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The next three days passed very quickly for the five of them; Tonks left each morning for work while the others worked around the castle. Harry and Ginny spent most of their time in the library finding books that they thought would be useful for their training. Sirius set up a training room in the basement that would allow everyone to practice their spells, and in the room next to it, he had several weight equiment and other apparatus to allow them to build up their physical strength as well. He put together a schedule for them to follow, and included Remus and himself.

Finally, the night of the full moon arrived. Remus had been taking the potion each morning for the last three days and was as prepared as he ever would be.

"Remus, if you do feel that you are going to transform let us know immediately and we will all move outside," Harry said as they sat in the library waiting.

"I have a feeling that it'll be okay. I haven't felt the normal urges before the full moon; normally, I would've started to feel the transformation starting. It's a long and painful process," explained Remus.

"That's encouraging, but isn't good enough. What if you don't feel the urges and then transform anyway? We should be ready for anything until tomorrow morning," replied Harry.

"Hmm. You have a point there," Remus conceded.

"What time are you expecting Tonks back?" asked Harry as they continued to wait.

"She had to meet her parents after work but I'm sure she won't be too late as she's extremely excited at the prospect of me not transforming," replied Remus.

"So, how is it going?" asked Harry.

"Ive always been so worried because of my furry little problem. But she doesn't care about that," Remus said with a blissful smile.

"That's great! I hope it works out for you?"

They continued to talk for a while before deciding to do something else to pass the time.

"Okay then, do you want to play chess while we wait?" Harry asked. "Hopefully it's going to be a long boring night."

"Sure, but I hope you like losing," replied Remus with a smirk.

"We will see, Remus," stated Harry as he setup his pieces.

They played chess well into the evening without any incidents. True to his word, Remus won every game against Harry, which frustrated him to no end. Tonks got home late from her parents and was excited to see that Remus was still himself.

"Oh, this is so exciting," Tonks said as she pulled Remus into a long kiss.

"Yes, it is! This could spell the end of the werewolves in the long run... by stopping the transformations, as this potion does, there is less danger of people being attacked. Now we just need to inform everyone else about it!" said Remus excitedly when they finally surfaced for air.

"We can work on that now, the potion is successful. We can get the elves to start making more. Once we have enough supplies we can start sharing it. Remus, would you be able to make contact with some other werewolves and tell them about it?" Harry asked.

"I will make contact tomorrow. Once they see that I'm not in pain because I didn't transform, they will want to know more about what happened. I can then explain to them about the potion and we can start to supply it," replied Remus.

"We need to ensure that they know who is supplying it. I'm going to ask Professor Dumbledore if we can supply it through the Order. We don't want Voldie, Fudge, or anyone else for that matter claiming credit for creating this Potion. The more people who find out about it the less likely they are to harass the known werewolves," explained Harry.

"Unfortunately. there will always be some who will try to take credit, especially with something as important as this Potion," replied Remus sadly.

"There always is, but at least some will know the truth," replied Harry.

The rest of the evening passed without incident; Remus and Tonks went to bed hand in hand. Finally, Remus could imagine a future with someone without having to worry about his furry little problem. They spoke long into the night and Remus finally confessed his feelings for Tonks, which pleased Tonks immensely.

They woke up the next morning in bed together. Remus decided at that moment that he didn't want to waste any more time and asked Tonks to marry him. She agreed without hesitation, and they were soon celebrating again.

The five of them settled for breakfast and for the first time in many years Remus was able to celebrate. Normally, after the full moon, he would have been in so much pain that he would not have been able to do anything.

"I want to thank you both for what you've done," Remus said when they were eating.

"You're welcome, Remus," replied Harry as he got up and hugged him.

Ginny also got up and hugged him. "I'm so happy that it worked! We were so excited when we found the research, but because it had never been tested we weren't sure what would happen."

Remus and Tonks announced their engagement, which lead to an impromptu party for them. Tonks asked Ginny to be her maid of honour as she really didn't have any friends besides each other.

After breakfast, Harry wrote a quick message to Snape and Dumbledore to inform them of the results of the potion, which he sent off with Xavier.

* * *

Later that day, Molly visited again to see how everyone was. She was pleased to see that Sirius and the others had settled in well and were enjoying the castle.

"Good evening, Molly," said Harry as she found them in the library.

"Evening, Harry," replied Molly.

"Are you able to stay for dinner?" asked Harry.

"I would love to, Harry! Thank you," replied Molly.

Harry and Ginny spent several hours talking with Molly about the castle, and the potion they had made. She was excited for them both that it had been so successful. She congratulated Remus and Tonks and offered to help plan the wedding.

"Have you decided when you will invite the others to stay? The twins have been asking every morning if we have heard from you," asked Molly later.

"Well, now we have tested the potion, we're planning to invite them, I will need to contact the others as they don't even know yet. I suspect that Hermione and Katie do, as the twins would have told them, but Neville and Luna have not been told yet," replied Harry.

"Oh, that will please the twins," replied Molly.

"I'm sure they'll be happy, having Sirius and Remus here too," Ginny said as they headed to dinner.

Harry decided to contact the twins directly after dinner. They would need to talk to Katie before she could join as she was not yet inducted into the New Marauders. Harry wanted to test her Occlumency shield before she arrived to be certain no one would be able to get any information about the group through her.

Dinner was a noisy affair, as everyone talked excitedly about the arrival of the others. Ginny was pleased that they would be there, as she was getting extremely impatient to restart their training.

* * *

After dinner, Molly returned to the Burrow and told the twins that Harry and Ginny would be arriving soon to talk with them. They waited in the kitchen while Arthur made sure that Ron was out of the way; they were not going to take any chances after what had happened last time.

A little later, Harry and Ginny arrived, and they walked into the kitchen to find the twins and their girlfriends awaiting their arrival.

As soon as Harry walked in, Hermione jumped out of her seat and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, Harry, I was so scared when Fred told me what happened. I hope you're okay now?" she said after releasing him.

"Yes I'm much better now, thanks Hermione," replied Harry.

"Well, I'm sure it doesn't hurt to have Ginny as a nurse," said Fred cheekily.

"Nope, it certainly doesn't," replied Harry. "Her bed manner is very good!"

"Don't you mean bedside manner?" mocked Fred.

"That too," replied Harry while winking at Fred.

He could see the look of horror flash on Fred's face, then watched as relief flooded his features as he realized that Harry was kidding.

The six of them sat down around the table so that they could talk.

"Guys, as you know, we have moved to Potter Castle. We spoke with Arthur and Molly about you spending the rest of the summer with us. They only agreed when they found out that Sirius and Remus would also be there, and when we invited them, we found out that Tonks is seeing Remus so she is staying as well.

"We decided to wait until now to invite you because of the full moon - Remus was testing a new potion that stopped his transformation from happening and we wanted to make sure it worked before having anyone else around the castle.

"Before we leave, however, there are a couple of things that we'll need to do. Hermione, we'll need to speak to your parents. I think that it makes sense for Remus, Tonks and myself to visit them and discuss it," Harry told them.

"I don't think it will be a problem, Harry. They have already consented to me spending time at the Burrow," replied Hermione, looking very happy.

Harry then turned to Katie. "We would also like to invite you. However, before we can, there are a couple of things that will need to be done. I would like to test your Occlumency shields; I know that George has been helping you so I'm certain that it will be okay.

"We will also need to talk to you about the rules of the New Marauders. If you are willing to accept them, you will be able to become a member too," explained Harry.

"From what George has been able to tell me, there are a lot of benefits of being in the group," Katie smiled mischievously.

"If you are ready then I would like to test your shields now," Harry told her.

"Yes, I am ready," replied Katie, calm and eager.

Harry spent ten minutes using various levels of power to probe her mind. He wanted to test her reaction speed, so he told her that he had finished and they talked for a few more minutes before trying to catch her by surprise. Katie was able to block him successfully before he even saw a memory.

"Well done, I have really finished this time. That last test used the same power that Professor Snape is capable of. The fact that you were able to successfully block me so quickly is very impressive," Harry told her with pride.

"It's been a lot of work but obviously it has been worth it," Katie told him as George kissed her.

"You're welcome; now, to save time, I am going to transfer the rules for the New Marauder's so that you have them all," Harry told her. He transferred the knowledge and then gave her a moment to integrate them.

Katie spent a few minutes reviewing the rules before confirming that she was happy to comply with them and didn't see anything that concerned her.

"Great, the only thing left now is for you to do the Animagus transformation. I will also transfer the knowledge that you will need, and give you the potion so you can find your form. Once you have a form, we will give you your official Marauder name," said Harry.

"Thanks, Harry," replied Katie before getting up and hugging him.

"Now, the only thing that we have left to do is talk to your parents about you staying at Potter Castle," Harry replied after they broke the hug.

"That won't be a problem, they are traveling around Europe at the moment and have allowed me to stay with George all summer," replied Katie with a slight blush.

"That's great," Harry replied.

Harry then turned to Hermione, "When can we visit your parents?"

"Actually, they're planning to go away tomorrow, so we will need to make sure the visit is tonight. They said it was okay for me to stay with the Weasleys but we'll need to tell them about the change of plan," Hermione told him.

"Okay, why don't I return to Potter Castle and get Remus and Tonks so that we can visit your parents tonight. Can you contact them and check if that will be okay?" asked Harry.

"Okay, I will send you a message with the time," replied Hermione.

Harry told them that once they had spoken to the Grangers, they would be back to pick them up and transport them to Potter Castle.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Harry, Remus and Tonks arrived near the Granger's house. They were all dress in Muggle clothing so that they would not stand out when they approached the house. Tonks had even changed her hair to a light brown color; Harry had already told her that it suited her, which had caused the twins to accuse him of flirting. They soon stopped however when Ginny looked at them and mouthed "Bat Bogey".

They walked to the door of the Granger's house. Harry knocked on the door. They didn't have to wait long before Hermione opened the door and welcomed them in.

"Good evening, Hermione," said Remus as they entered the house.

"Good evening, Professor,' replied Hermione.

Tonks chuckled at that, as she knew he hated being called Professor since he no longer held that title.

Hermione showed them into the living room where her parents were waiting.

"Mum, Dad, this is Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Harry Potter," Hermione said as she pointed to each.

"These are my parents, John and Jane Granger," Hermione told them as they all greeted each other.

"Welcome," John said as she shook their hands.

"Thank you," replied Remus. "It's nice to meet you."

Jane, Tonks and Hermione were talking as well, leaving Harry on his own. A few minutes later John invited them to sit down.

"Would any of you like a drink?" asked Jane once they had settled.

Harry wasn't sure what Hermione's parents had any wizard drinks so asked for a cup of coffee. Remus and Tonks, thinking the same thing, asked for tea. Jane quickly returned with their drinks and some biscuits.

"Hermione tells me that you would like to discuss her staying with you this summer," John said.

"Yes, Sir," replied Harry. "A number of us are planning to spend the summer at my house."

John turned to Remus and inquired, "Who will be watching over them?"

"There will be at least two adults with them all the time. Nymphadora and I are living at the residence, as is Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. We also have regular visits from the Weasleys," replied Remus, noticing the irritated look from Tonks because he had used her full name again.

Harry also noticed this and quietly laughed. Ginny was giggling too, which made it hard for Harry to keep a straight face.

' _Oh, I think we're going to have some fun with this,_ ' Ginny told him.

' _Oh, yes,_ ' replied Harry happily.

They spent the next hour talking about how their summer holidays were going to be spent. Everyone made sure to avoid too much talk about the complexity of the magic they were going to be learning and also anything about Voldemort.

Eventually, Hermione's parents agreed that Hermione could stay for the rest of the summer.

Unfortunately, Harry was not able to make the same offer to her parents that he had for everyone else because they had no way of protecting their minds, and this information was of the utmost importance - no one else could know about it without being a part of their group. In fact, they had all been very careful to avoid any mention of where they would be going; only that it was Harry's house.

Hermione was over the moon, and quickly hugged her parents before running upstairs to pack her trunk making sure she had everything. Harry offered to help her, leaving Remus and Tonks talking with Hermione's parents.

Once the trunk was packed, Harry called for Maxim and everything was transported to her room in the castle. They returned downstairs to confused looks from her parents.

"We already sent the luggage to my house," Harry explained when he saw the looks.

They said quick goodbyes to Hermione's parents before leaving. Remus and Tonks returned to Potter Castle while Harry flashed Hermione to the Burrow.

* * *

They arrived back at the Burrow to find the other three ready to leave. It was clear from Hermione's expression that her parents had agreed to her staying. Fred pulled her into a hug and quickly kissed her.

Harry was surprised to see Ron sitting in the kitchen when he arrived, and he didn't miss the look of anger on his face when Fred kissed Hermione. Also sitting at the table were Ginny, Bill, Fleur and Percy.

Ginny got up and made sure to kiss Harry very thoroughly in front of Ron, who looked very angry again when it happened.

' _That's really mean,_ ' Harry said over the bond.

' _Well, he needs to learn. I am not going to stop kissing you just because he is around,_ ' replied Ginny.

' _I know, but I just don't trust him to not do something,_ ' Harry said.

Bill was watching Ron very closely and could see that he was itching to get out of his seat and confront Harry again. Bill decided that it was time he had a little talk with Ron to make him aware of certain facts.

Bill pulled Harry and Ginny into the living room and placed a silencing charm on the door, so that Ron could not hear them talk.

"I think that it's time to tell Ron about the bond," Bill told them.

"Are you sure?" said Harry with a worried expression.

"Yes, it's obvious that he's still angry. I think that if he was aware of the bond, and the fact that his attack could have killed both of you, his attitude may change," Bill told them.

They conferred for a minute, deciding if they wanted him to know and in the end agreed that Bill was right.

"Okay, we agree; but we don't want him to know anything about the marriage side of it. You can tell him about the bond and how we're now linked together. I don't think that he'd be able to cope with the rest yet," replied Ginny.

"I agree. I will talk to him tonight after everyone else has left," Bill told them as he canceled the silencing charm.

They all walked back into the kitchen; Ron was staring angrily at Harry but didn't say anything. The others were all waiting in the kitchen with their luggage.

Just as they were about to leave, Molly told them that they would be spending the night at Potter Castle to make sure everyone settled in. They all took that to mean that they were all in their own rooms and not sharing. Harry was glad they had insisted on assigning separate rooms for each of them, even if they were next to each other and had secret doors that connected them.

Harry explained that Ginny and he would transform into their Phoenix forms and transport them to the castle, just as he did with Sirius, Remus and Tonks. Again, he called Maxim to transport the luggage to their rooms before leaving.

Once the luggage has disappeared with Maxim, Harry turned to them, "Are you all ready?"

They all confirmed that they were ready. Harry told them that they would need to grab their tail feathers once they had transformed and then they would flash them directly to Potter Castle.

Harry and Ginny quickly transformed and flew into the air above the four of them. Fred and Hermione grabbed Ginny's tail feathers and the three of the disappeared in a flash. George and Katie did the same with Harry and with a second flash, also disappeared.

Ron had witnessed the whole thing. For some reason, he could not understand what they were talking about; it seemed as if something was causing the words to be jumbled. However, he didn't miss the fact that both Harry and Ginny were able to transform into animals and both had he same form.

"How is that possible?" said a startled Ron.

"There are many things that you need to understand about Harry and Ginny," replied Bill, as he sat down at the table.

Bill proceeded to tell Ron what had really happened at the Yule Ball and why they had not returned that night. He told him that Madam Pomfrey had been with them all night. He told him about the bond and how they were now linked together and shared thoughts.

Then Bill explained that if he had killed Harry at the start of holidays, he would have also killed Ginny.

When Ron heard this he was devastated; he was only trying to protect Ginny from Harry, not get her killed.

They talked late into the evening Bill answered as many questions as he could without giving away certain information. By the end of it, Ron had calmed down considerably, but was still upset that they were allowed to live together. Bill just told him that it was their parent's decision and that he had no right to interfere.

Bill made it very clear to Ron that everyone else supported Harry and Ginny and that he would have to face each of them if he did attempt anything ever again. He also informed him that they would not be nearly as forgiving as they had been.

Ron reluctantly agreed and promised to improve his behavior around them both.

* * *

Fred, George, Katie and Hermione arrived in the entrance hall of Potter Castle. As soon as Harry and Ginny had arrived, she again welcomed them in a formal tone. None of them besides Harry and Ginny realized that this was a key part of the ward recognition process - if the formal greeting had not been given, they would not have been able to move past the area they were standing in.

Harry and Ginny gave them a short tour on the way to their rooms, making sure to highlight where breakfast would be served the next morning. They would have a full tour in the morning once they had spoken to Neville and Luna.

Once the four of them had settled in their rooms, Harry and Ginny lead them back downstairs and out to the pool area. It was too dark to see much, but it was clear that the ground of Potter Castle were extensive.

Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Arthur and Molly were all sitting around the pool talking when the kids walked out. The eleven of them spent the evening talking late into the night. One by one the crowd thinned, as they began to trickle away and head for their beds.

* * *

The next morning, Harry and Ginny woke up early. They wanted to complete their morning run before waking the others. It had been a late night and they were being kind today, but that wasn't going to last. Once Neville and Luna arrived, they would be back into the normal routine.

They were going to get up early and spend each morning in training. The rest of the day would be left free for whatever they wanted to do. Sirius and Remus had worked together to set up a schedule that would allow them to practice each of the important subjects during the week. They also told them that there would be homework, which mainly involved them researching for the next practice session so that they could spend more time actually practicing.

When they returned from their run, Harry and Ginny met the others for breakfast.

"Good morning, did you all have a good rest?" asked Harry as he sat down.

"Morning, Harry. Yes, the bed was amazing," replied Fred.

"I agree," added George. "It was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time."

"Well, that was more because Katie didn't stay in your room last night," replied Fred.

"I'd better not hear of any of you sleeping in the same room or I will be having words with you; is that clear?!" said Molly as she looked directly at the twins.

"Yes, Mum," they both replied.

Arthur and Molly told them that they would be returning to the Burrow for the day but would be back that evening and planned to stay for a couple more nights. Once they left, Harry turned to Fred, George, Katie and Hermione and said, "We don't care what you do. It's no secret that Ginny and I are sharing a room, just don't let Molly catch you."

The four of them looked at each other and smiled. They had been hoping Harry would say that but didn't want to push anything; which, truth be told, was why they had not done anything the night before.

Sirius and Remus finally arrived for breakfast as the rest of them were finishing. Both of them looked like they had been up late the night before.

"Good morning," said Harry with a mischievous smile that suddenly made Sirius and Remus very worried.

"Morning," replied Sirius after sitting down and grabbed a cup of coffee.

Moments later, he regretted his choice as he was transformed into a goat. Everyone else around the table fell about in fits of laughter when they saw Sirius transform. Fred and George, being the evil pranksters they were, decided to have some fun and transformed into their Lion forms. They were soon chasing the goat around the large dining room while the rest of the group fell off their seats.

Twenty minutes later, Sirius finally transformed back and wasn't amused in the least.

"If I find out who did this I will make them pay," Sirius growled, glaring around at each person sitting at the table.

They just smiled at him and refused to say anything.

"Don't forget I will be teaching you starting from tomorrow - and payback is a bitch!" threatened Sirius.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

After breakfast, Harry and Ginny flashed to Longbottom Manor to see Neville. They had Flooed him and told him they wanted to meet. Luckily, Luna had been visiting as well, so they didn't have to worry about finding her afterwards.

"Hi, Harry," said Neville when he arrived.

"Hi, Neville," replied Harry.

"How are you doing?" asked Harry.

"We're good," replied Neville.

"Fred told us what happened to you," added Luna. "How are you now?"

"Much better, thanks," replied Harry.

"So why did you want to talk to us, Harry?" asked Neville once they had settled down in the large living room.

"We're wondering if you wanted to join us at Potter Castle for the rest of the summer?" Harry said.

"I'll have to check with Gran. But if she doesn't mind that we stay, then I would love to," replied Neville.

"Dad's gone off on some adventure to find Crumple-Horned Snorkacks so he can write a more in-depth article about them, so I can come along too," replied Luna.

"That's great! Why don't you talk to your Gran. The others have all arrived now so if you're able to come we are going to start up training again. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Tonks are all staying at the castle too and will be helping us with the training," explained Harry.

"I'm sure Gran will be fine if they're going to be there. I'll be right back," Neville said as he got up and left the room.

Ten minutes later a very happy Neville returned with his Grandmother.

"Harry Potter, what a pleasure to meet you again," Augusta Longbottom said when she arrived in the room.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Longbottom," replied Harry.

"Neville has told me about the training you lot have been doing. Don't worry; I'm not going to say anything. It was obvious when Neville got back that something had happened; he was so much fitter and stronger then last year," Augusta said.

Harry relaxed a little, but was still worried that she knew.

"Harry, Neville's only told me the basics, none of the real details. I would like to say that it would be all right to tell me what is really going on - my Occulmency shields are quite strong and it would take a very accomplished Legilimens to get past them. Not to mention that I would have already cursed them for trying," continued Augusta.

"Do you mind if I test them?" asked Harry. "Not that I don't trust you, but it would make me happier."

"No, I don't mind, Harry. I trust that you will not reveal anything you see if you do get past them," replied Augusta.

Harry tested her shields and found them to be strong enough to resist even Dumbledore for some time.

"Thank you. It would take even Dumbledore some time to break through," Harry said, impressed.

"That's good to know," replied Augusta. "Anyway, Neville told me about your offer. I'm will be fine with both of them visiting you over the summer. I just ask that they don't become strangers as it is very lonely in the house when they are not here," Augusta told them.

"Our training will be going on in the mornings and there is no set schedule for afternoons. Therefore, they will be able to visit at any time," Harry told her. "I would also like to extend an offer to you to visit the castle at any time. Arthur and Molly Weasley have visited a number of times. As your shields are very strong we won't have to worry about anyone finding out about the castle. Plus, I'm the secret keeper so they would only know that you had visited us, not where you visited," Harry said.

"Thank you, Harry; I'm honored that you would make that offer. I'll contact Molly and see when they are next planning to visit," replied Augusta.

"When you first visit, let me know as I will have to transport you to the castle. The wards will not allow anyone to enter unless they have first entered with Ginny or me," explained Harry.

With that, Harry told them to grab everything they wanted to take with them. Once they had packed and return to the living room, Neville and Luna said goodbye to Augusta. Harry called Maxim as before and asked him to take their luggage to their rooms, following which he transformed into a phoenix, and together with Xavier, transported Neville and Luna to Potter Castle.

* * *

As with the others, Neville and Luna arrived in the entrance hall of Potter Castle and were soon settling into their rooms. Harry and Ginny explained how the hidden doors worked and warned them that Arthur and Molly were staying for a few days, and to be careful if they decided to use them.

Once they were settled in, everyone arrived outside at the pool again for lunch. To everyone's amusement, Sirius was trying to use the barbeque that was near the house and was doing a very poor job at it. He finally gave up after he completely cremated his third set of hotdogs.

Sirius explained that as it was their first day together, they would have a basic lesson that afternoon to gauge where everyone was, and would then settle into the proper lessons the next day.

"Okay everyone, time for the tour," Harry told them once they had finished the lunch Maxim had served.

Harry and Ginny took the whole group on a tour of the castle. They had planned out the route so that the library was the first room they visited, as they didn't want to lose Hermione to the stacks of books by ending there. To say that Hermione was speechless would be an understatement; she was gobsmacked when she saw just how many books they had.

"Yes Hermione, you may use the library whenever you wish," said Harry before she could even open her mouth to ask.

"Thank you," she replied breathlessly.

Everyone else was sniggering at her response as she looked around the room. They could see she was already making a mental list of books she wanted to look at. Harry quickly explained the indexing system to them, which pleased and intrigued Hermione even more.

Harry turned to Fred and smiled before saying, "Good luck."

"I'll just have to give her something else to think about," replied Fred before pulling her into a passionate kiss that made her forget where she was for a second. They took the opportunity to get out of the library before she could recover.

The rest of the tour was rather uneventful until they arrived outside, as they had been there several times during the day but had not noticed the Quidditch pitch that had been hidden behind the trees. Only when they walked around the corner and stood directly in front of the Quidditch pitch did they all stop dead.

"Wow, this must be a full size pitch," said the twins together.

"Yep," replied Harry with a laugh as he could tell they would all be spending plenty of time out here.

They proceeded into the actual stadium; Harry summoned enough brooms for them to fly around on for a while. It wasn't long before they were zooming around the pitch having a great time. To everyone's surprise, Hermione joined them as well.

A short while later, they finished up the tour and returned to the castle. Harry told them that they would start exploring the forest soon in their Lion forms. He turned to Katie and explained that all of them had a Lion as one of their forms and he was almost certain that she would too. She had not taken the potion yet, but was going to. She wanted to understand all the information a little better before doing it so that she could start practicing immediately.

* * *

After the tour, they all headed down to the training room and were greeted by Sirius and Remus.

"As we said at lunch, we would like to find out where you are with your training. We are going to test you, and from there, determine what you should focus on during your training times. Remember that this room is always available and you are free to use it at any time. We just request that you let someone else know that you are using it in case anything happens," Sirius told them.

They spent the next two hours going over everything they had learned since Christmas.

"Well, I'm very impressed," said Remus. "You are far beyond what I would have expected for kids your age; it is clear that the training you have been doing is working well. Sirius and I will start on the more advanced spells tomorrow. I spoke with Tonks before lunch and she is going to get us the Auror training manual so we can follow that," he continued.

They were all excited; they never thought they would get to start Auror training so early.

When they finished the session, everyone headed back to the dining room for dinner. During dinner, they finalized the schedule for the rest of the summer. They would start with their run at 6am and then use the equipment in the training room for strength work. After breakfast they would spend time in actual lessons. After lunch was free time as long as they completed all their research or homework before the next lesson.

After dinner, everyone split up - the twins returned to the potions lab to talk to the elves, Luna disappeared to the library with Hermione, and the others made their way out to the Quidditch pitch for a quick game.

"I'm so glad that you have a full Quidditch pitch, Harry," said Katie as they grabbed their brooms.

"So am I," replied Ginny. "Now that we are all here, we can practice as often as we want. Just imagine the faces of everyone next year when we all play."

"I didn't know you wanted to play," said Katie.

"I'd love to play chaser, I just haven't had a chance to try out yet - all Chaser spots were filled..." replied Ginny with just a hint of disappointment.

"Well, you certainly will be able to this year. McGonagall told me before end of term that she picked me to be new captain next year," replied Katie.

"Oh, wicked! Will you help train me over the summer so I can become as good as you three are?" gushed Ginny with a fierce and determined look in her eyes.

"Of course I will, Ginny," Katie said with a smile.

Ginny was beyond excited at the chance to finally play for the house team; she vowed to work hard all summer to improve so she stood a chance.

' _I have no doubt's you will be able to make it,_ ' Harry said over the bond.

' _Thanks, Harry,_ ' replied Ginny.

Harry grabbed a Quaffle out to the store cupboard and they spent the next three hours playing. It wasn't long before the twins, Sirius and Remus joined them.

As they walked back to the castle several hours later, Katie told them she wanted to start practicing at least once a week so they could be ready for the new term. None of them complained so she went ahead and put together a loose schedule in order to keep her plans in order.

Tonks had arrived home that evening with several copies of the Auror training manual so they could make a start the next morning. She had spoken to Kingsley Shacklebolt because he was responsible for the manual and she needed to get it from him to make copies. She simply told him that Harry was interested in becoming an Auror when he left school and wanted to determine what he needed to study for his NEWT's.

Kingsley was only too happy to allow Harry to have a copy; he even offered to meet with Harry during the summer so they could talk about his options. Harry told Tonks that he would think about it before making a final decision.

* * *

The next morning found all the occupants of Potter Castle, except Tonks, Arthur, and Molly, running around the lake at Potter Castle. Most of them were taking it slowly to start with as they had not practiced for a few weeks but soon got back into their normal pace.

After breakfast they all made their way down to the training room that Sirius and Remus had set up. They were surprised to see Tonks there as well.

"Wotcher, Harry," said Tonks when they got there.

"Hi, what are you doing here?" wondered Harry.

"Took a couple of days off to help get you started," replied Tonks.

"Cool, you didn't need to do that," replied Harry.

"Wanted to, Harry. Remus told me just how well you did during the test yesterday. And I wanted to see for myself," Tonks said with a grin.

"Well, I hope we don't disappoint you," replied Harry.

"I'm sure you won't, if what Remus told me really is true, you're more advanced than most of the first year recruits we currently have in training," replied Tonks.

Tonks introduced them to the training manual and told them that most of the time would be spent dueling as they had at school. Learning the new spells would be easy for them, but being able to make use of them in a potential battle situation would be even better. She had worked with Sirius and Remus to set up several scenarios that they could face.

"We have set up these training dummies to attack you when they spot you. For the first task, they will only use Stunners. Later, the number of spells will be increased," explained Tonks.

"Now, I want you to split into teams; you need to review the scene, determine the best approach to rescuing the hostage, and then execute the plan," Sirius told them as Tonks got the dummies ready.

Sirius explained that the teams would have to wait outside the training room for their turn. They wanted to see how each team planned out the mission without them seeing what happened to the others.

The four couples split up and quickly started planning. Harry and Ginny had a massive advantage when it came to surveying the scene, as they could use their Phoenix abilities to determine what was out there. They decided it wasn't wrong for them to use it as they would need any advantage in a battle that they had. The others all had abilities that they could use too.

Neville and Luna went first; they quickly entered the area and took out several dummies after they attacked. Unfortunately, Luna wasn't quite fast enough and ended up being hit by a stunner. Neville quickly revived her and they regrouped before attempting a second rescue attempt. They were finally successful, but it had taken almost twenty minutes for them finish. Both of them had been hit several times before the end.

George and Katie were up next. They both disillusioned themselves before entering the scene, which made it easier for them. They quickly made it to the room where the hostage was hidden, but forgot to check behind the door and were both stunned before they could leave.

Fred and Hermione entered next. they also chose to Disillusion themselves for the test, and Hermione was using a spell that would alert them to the presence of anything unfriendly. They were able to rescue the hostage quite quickly, but were a little careless when leaving and Hermione was stunned. Fred quickly revived her and then they were more cautious as they left.

Finally, it was Harry and Ginny's turn; all of the others were excited to see what they would do. Sirius and Remus had deliberately left them until the end so that all the others could see what they did.

They both entered the scene cautiously; using their Phoenix abilities, they were able to quickly take out the first group of dummies. Harry then transformed into a Phoenix and flew into the air to survey the scene once again. Harry guided Ginny through the scene allowing her to take out each dummy before it even realized they were close. In the end, they took out all the dummies before they even entered the room, quickly rescued the hostage, and returned to the start. They were still careful on the way out, but didn't have to worry.

"Well done, all of you," Tonks told them afterwards.

"I can tell you now that very few of the first years in Auror training have ever made it into the room on their first run. Yet, all of you made it that far and, except for George and Katie, made it all the way out."

"Now that you have finished this mission, we will review each team and determine what happened, and what you need to remember for next time. It doesn't matter that you failed first time, as long you learn from it and remember it the next time," explained Tonks.

They reviewed each of the teams, and together, determined what they could do to improve their overall performance. They all felt really good when they had finished, as there was very little they did wrong and plenty of things they did well.

"Now, remember what you have learned today; next week, we will be doing a slightly different scenario," Tonks told them. "Now, before we finish today, I would like to challenge Harry to a duel."

They were all amazed that Tonks would challenge Harry but were also excited to see the duel. As for Harry, he wasn't sure if he wanted to battle Tonks, but in the end decided that he would like to measure his abilities against a fully trained witch to see just how much more he would need to learn before he could face Voldemort again.

"Okay, I accept your challenge," replied Harry.

They quickly set the rules for the duel; they would only allow non life-threatening spells to be used.

The duel soon started and Harry could tell that Tonks wasn't going to hold back as she opened with a number of advanced curses in fast succession. Harry quickly erected a shield and the battle was on.

Harry threw back several Stunners, quickly followed by a Tickling Charm. Tonks easily deflected them before returning several of her own Stunners. They dueled for twenty minutes before either managed to hit the other.

Tonks finally accomplished a Tongue Tie Curse on Harry and thought that she would finally have the advantage. She quickly followed up with several powerful Stunners, but was amazed to see Harry raise a shield wordlessly, and then break the Tongue Tie Curse on himself. They dueled for another ten minutes before Harry finally broke through Tonks' shield and managed to disarm her.

Everyone was amazed at the duel they had just witnessed. They knew Harry was good, but never expected him to last that long against an Auror, and more importantly beat one.

"That was bloody brilliant," said Tonks after Harry returned her wand.

"Bloody hell, Harry," said Sirius.

The others all congratulated him too.

They spent the whole of lunch talking about the duel. Tonks told Harry that she would love to duel again and would help Harry to improve his abilities. After that, Harry and Ginny disappeared to spend some time together.

* * *

The next morning, they all gathered in the Potions lab in the castle. Sirius had decided that they should practice as often as possible in the actual lab. Again, as with the other subjects, they would be doing research on the ingredients needed during their free time so that they would be able to brew when they were in the lab.

For the first lesson, Sirius wanted them to work on Veritaserum, as it was always useful to have at hand. Being able to brew it when needed would give them several advantages when dealing with people. There were several changes that could be made to the potion that would allow it last longer than typical; however it could be very dangerous if not administered correctly, which was why it wasn't normally used.

"Good morning," Sirius said when they all arrived. "The instructions are on the board."

They immediately split into couples and started working on the potion. It would require the whole morning to complete, so they worked carefully to ensure nothing went wrong. Neville, normally very hesitant in Potions, was doing very well. Sirius walked around the lab, monitoring the process, making comments on how well each couple were doing.

"Well done, Neville and Luna," Sirius said when he saw that the potion was the perfect color and consistency for the current stage. "I was told you struggled a little with Potions; but it seems that when you are able to work without interruptions you do better."

"Yes, Sirius," replied Neville. "Unfortunately, Professor Snape doesn't like me much, so he makes it harder for me to work in the lab."

"Ah, yes, I can imagine that he would scare you," laughed Sirius. "Well, you don't have to worry about that here," he continued. By the end of the morning, all of them had completed the Potion successfully and added it to the stocks in the castle store cupboard.

"Okay, for next week I want you to research and find a potion that you haven't created before. We will examine each of the potions and then determine how long it will take to brew and what the benefits the potion would give us. We will then start the brewing process. Once a potion has been completed and tested, then that pair will then search for another potion," Sirius told them.

They all looked excited by the prospect of searching, especially Hermione, who was already trying to leave the room so she could get to the library and start working.

"Hermione, before you run off to the library, at least eat some lunch," joked Sirius as he could see she was eager to leave.

She gave him a huff before joining in the laughter as well.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

That afternoon, Katie had arranged for their first Quidditch training session. They were missing one Chaser and the Keeper, but when Neville and Luna volunteered to stand in, the team was complete.

As they made their way down to the pitch Katie told them what she would like to focus on.

"Harry, you and the twins need to spend your time practicing with the snitch and Bludgers. If you can learn to avoid them whilst searching for the snitch, it will allow you to move faster when you need to.

"Ginny, you will be practicing with Neville, Luna and I on your chaser skills. Neville, would you be keeper, please?" asked Katie.

"No problem," Neville replied. He had never played Keeper before, but decided that it shouldn't be too hard. He soon regretted thinking that as he watched the Chaser's approaching him and high speed.

While the twins were smashing the Bludgers towards Harry as hard as they could, Harry was carefully searching for the snitch. He realized quickly that his Phoenix abilities gave him a massive advantage because he could sense what was happening around him. He knew exactly where each player was and, more importantly, where each of the different balls were. He wasn't sure if that was cheating or not, but before he could answer his own question, Ginny did it for him.

' _Harry, I don't think it is cheating to use the abilities you have been given._ '

' _I guess not, after all they have not failed us yet,_ ' replied Harry happily.

It was then that Ginny realized that she was also able to see the same thing as Harry; she could see everything that was happening around her. As they were practicing, she knew immediately when Katie or Luna released the Quaffle towards her and was able to grab it.

As Ginny continued to play Harry decided to give her some competition and told the twins to start directing the Bludgers at her instead. He then got Remus and Sirius into the air as Chasers with him so that Ginny would not only have to practice the various moves that Katie had for her but would also have to avoid the opposition.

Ginny was in her element as the session progressed; she quickly used her Phoenix abilities to her advantage as she dodged around the Bludgers. The only player who was able to keep up with her was Harry and he wasn't holding back. By the end of the session, she was able to perform all of the simple chaser moves that Katie knew and was already progressing onto the more advanced ones. Several hours later they all landed back on the pitch, Maxim appeared with a large tray of drinks for them which they grabbed immediately.

"Are you sure you never played Chaser before?" asked Katie as they showered.

"Never," replied Ginny.

"Well, you are certainly a natural. I never expected you to be able to perform so well already," Katie told her as they finished their showers and got dressed.

"I wasn't sure if I would enjoy playing Chaser at first but once Harry and the others started playing against us it really made me realize just how exciting it can be," replied Ginny happily.

They continued to talk all the way back to the castle. Just as they were about to enter, Harry appeared upside down in front of her and gently kissed her.

"Well done," he said as he got off the broom after their kiss. "I have no doubt that we are going to wipe the floor this year."

They walked hand in hand back to their room so they could spend some time relaxing before falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Remus and Tonks spent the session reviewing the charms that were taught to the first year Auror's. Most of them involved changing their appearance, or the more advanced forms of the Disillusionment charm they already knew. They explained the advantages of being able to change their appearance at will, and that it was imperative that they learn to do them silently.

"Remember, just changing your appearance isn't going to help you if you don't also change your voice. This is especially important when around people who know you," explained Tonks as they continued to learn the spells.

"Is there any spells that can help?" asked Hermione as she changed her hair color.

"There are some but you have to be careful with them. If you don't cast them correctly you could cause more problems for yourself. Unfortunately the first time you may know it didn't work correctly is when you talk and if there is a Death Eater present it may be too late to react," Tonks replied.

"What if we were to create some potions that could change our voices?" asked Harry.

"That's brilliant," exclaimed Tonks with excitement. "If you had a potion then as long as it was brewed correctly you could guarantee the voice would be the same each time."

Tonks turned around to talk with Hermione only to find her searching through a Potion book already.

"Well I guess we don't need to ask who is going to research that," joked Tonks causing Hermione to blush slightly.

With Hermione off in full research mode the others continued to practice the new spells and it didn't take long for them to get the hang of them. Towards the end of the session each of them were able to completely transform their body's as needed, it wasn't quite as effective as Polyjuice potion but unless you looked very closely you would not know.

Tonks realized the twins where having too much fun with the transformations as they where now impersonating Fudge and making a speech about The boy who lived'.

"Okay, I think we have had enough for today. Remember the faster you can perform the transformations the better, and unlike Polyjuice potion it will not wear off until cancelled. Of course someone else could also cancel the spells so it is imperative that you are careful," Tonks told them.

As the others were leaving the room, Tonks asked to talk privately with Harry.

"Anything wrong, Tonks?" asked Harry.

"Nothing, Harry, I was just observing you during the lesson and noticed that both you and Ginny were able to perform the appearance changes much faster than any of the others."

"Oh? I didn't really notice," replied Harry.

"Can I ask you some questions?" asked Tonks.

"Of course," Harry said while sitting down.

"When was the last time you had a haircut?"

Harry thought for a moment before realizing that he had never had one, "The only time I recall was when Aunt Petunia cut it all off because it was so messy."

"What happened after that?" asked Tonks.

"When I woke up the next morning, it had all grown back again," Harry told her thinking back to when that had happened.

Ginny had reappeared in the room while they were talking and settled down in Harry's lap.

"Harry, I think you may be a Metamorphmagus," Tonks told them.

They both looked shocked at her pronouncement, but when they thought about it, could see the logic in what she was saying.

"Can you try something for me," Tonks asked when they looked back towards her.

Harry nodded without saying anything.

"I want you to think about growing your hair longer."

Harry concentrated for a few minutes and when he thought that nothing happened was a little frustrated. However he was soon brought out of that when Tonks and Ginny burst out laughing.

"What's so funny," asked Harry a little hurt before he saw himself through Ginny's eyes and realized that his hair was now down to his waist.

"Well, I guess that worked," joked Harry before returning his hair to its normal length.

"Ginny, can you try too. I am not sure if this is something that can be shared via the bond, but it would be worth exploring," Tonks asked once Harry's hair was back to normal.

Ginny focused on making her hair shorter, she too thought that it had not worked until she could see the amazed look on Tonks face and saw her hair through Harry's eyes.

"Amazing," Tonks stated as she watched the two of them kiss.

"I like it long," Harry told her afterwards.

"I think you should make yours a little longer," Ginny told him. He added a couple of inches to his hair and she told him it was perfect. At that length it wasn't as unmanageable as before.

Tonks spent the next few hours talking to them and teaching them how to control their Metamorphmagus abilities, and promised to train them regularly during the summer as it would give them another advantage over others when they needed it.

Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the day altering their appearance as they learned to control the Metamorphic abilities they had. At one point Ginny decided to enlarge her breasts to see Harry's reaction.

With a mischievous smile she walked into the room wearing just a towel and walked up to Harry. He looked at her for a second before noticing the changes she had made to herself. He took her hands in his and pulled her to the bed and gently whispered in her ear, "You were already perfect, Gin."

A single tear ran down her face, she knew Harry loved her completely but to hear him tell her that in his opinion she was perfect filled her with even more love. Especially as she could sense that he was being completely honest with her. Pulling him into a very passionate kiss she transformed her body back to normal and collapsed onto the bed with Harry.

"Thank you," she replied a while later.

* * *

Tonks had finally convinced Harry to meet with Kingsley. The meeting had been set for a neutral place as Harry wasn't ready to reveal Potter Castle, and didn't want to meet at the Ministry.

"Thank you for meeting with me, Harry," said Kingsley as they arrived at Tonks parent's house.

"You're welcome, Mr. Shacklebolt," replied Harry.

"Please, call me Kingsley," he replied.

"Okay, Kingsley," replied Harry hesitantly.

"Now, Tonks here tells me that you dueled recently. She didn't tell me much about it other than the fact that you beat her. I would really like to know how a fifteen year old is able to beat one of my best Auror's," Kingsley said.

Harry was tempted to say that he was actually fourteen at the time but felt that would seem too much like boasting.

"Before I answer any questions I need to know that whatever is said will be strictly between the three of us?" asked Harry.

Kingsley looked a little uncomfortable agreeing to that, but instinctively knew that Harry would not answer any of his questions if he didn't agree; so, reluctantly, he nodded his head. "Okay, Harry, I will agree to not discuss this with anyone except you or Tonks," replied Kingsley.

"Sorry, Kingsley, but I am going to need you to swear to that. There is too much at stake to just allow you to agree without swearing on your magic," replied Harry.

Kingsley considered Harry's request for several minutes weighing up the benefits of gaining his trust against his duties to the Ministry and Dumbledore.

"Very well, I will swear on my magic, but only if you agree to tell me everything," replied Kingsley.

Harry thought about it for a while before Ginny suddenly interrupted.

' _Harry, Kingsley could be a valuable asset,_ ' Ginny said.

' _He is the head Auror, and has access to information that we could use against Tom,_ ' continued Ginny.

' _Thanks, Gin._ '

"Okay, I agree to your terms," replied Harry.

Kingsley then swore on his magic that he would never discuss with anyone what Harry revealed. Little did Kingsley realize that someone else was also listening in to the conversation, someone that had been tracking him for a long time.

Just before Harry started to explain, Xavier and Fawkes suddenly flashed into the room.

' _Harry, stop,_ ' said Xavier.

' _What's going on?_ ' asked Harry as he drew his wand.

' _There is a trace on Kingsley that is being used to monitor his conversations,_ ' replied Xavier.

' _What? How long has it been there?_ ' asked Harry.

' _We are not sure, we detected it just now,_ ' replied Xavier.

' _Do you know who is monitoring,_ ' asked Harry.

' _Yes; it appears the Minister is using it,_ ' replied Xavier.

' _We followed the trace to its source and found it linked directly to his office. There is a recording device that activates when he talks and records everything._ '

' _Does it record anything else?_ ' asked Harry.

' _Yes; it also appears to record Kingsley's location,_ ' replied Xavier.

' _We need to determine how long the trace has been there,_ ' replied Harry.

' _The only way to do that would be to break into the Minister's office and check,_ ' stated Xavier.

' _Okay, I am going to write a message to Kingsley to tell him. Can you also check Tonks and all the others we have contact with,_ ' asked Harry.

' _Yes, Harry,_ ' replied Xavier before disappearing again.

Kingsley looked confused as Harry continued to stare at him but appeared to be talking to some else. He suddenly turned to Tonks and sent a request for Parchment and a quill directly to her mind.

She was momentarily shocked by the sudden appearance of Harry's voice in her mind but then disappeared into another room and then returned with both. She handed them Harry without speaking, he then wrote a quick note and passed it to Kingsley.

 _ **Xavier detected a trace spell on you that is linked back to the Minister's office. It appears to be able to record both your location and any conversation that you have.**_

 **Don't do anything yet, we are checking Tonks too and will determine how to remove it.**

' _Ginny, I need you to research how we can remove this trace. It seems to be different then the one that was placed on us by Dumbledore before,_ ' Harry said.

' _Already working on it, Harry,_ ' replied Ginny.

' _Thanks, darling, I should have realized,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Hermione is in her element; she ran straight to the library when I told her what was happening,_ ' Ginny told him.

' _Fawkes, you better warn Dumbledore about the trace. Until we know how long it has been in place, we have no way of know what he may have learnt. And, more importantly, who he has sold it too,_ ' Harry said.

Without responding, Fawkes flashed out of the room directly to Dumbledore.

Kingsley grabbed the quill and quickly wrote a message.

 _ **We need to say something soon. If they are recording this they will get suspicious.**_

Harry realized he was right, so started talking.

"Sorry about that Kingsley, I didn't realize I needed the bathroom quite that urgently," Harry said as he scraped the chair to make it sound like he was sitting down again.

"No problem," replied Kingsley.

"So where were we?" asked Harry.

"You were going to explain how you trained," replied Kingsley.

"Oh, right, well you see it really comes down to a number of factors," started Harry.

He went on to make up a story of how they had been so frustrated with the poor DADA teachers they had at school, that they decided to train themselves. They would meet twice a week in the Great Hall, and learn new spells.

While they were talking, Xavier returned to say they had found the trace on Arthur Weasley also. They still had not determined how long it was present, so Harry suddenly panicked as he had been at Potter Castle recently. Xavier reassured him that the trace would not have worked when it was at the castle, as the Phoenix wards would have stopped it.

Harry quickly wrote a note to Kingsley explaining what they had learnt.

Harry then went on to explain that Tonks and he had an agreement that they would pretend that he had beaten her because they wanted to see what the reaction would be. Once he had finished explaining everything, Kingsley agreed to meet them again in a week to discuss what he should learn if he wanted to become an Auror.

Kingsley left the house and immediately returned to his office so that he could start investigating the trace. He wasn't going to let Fudge get away with this and would do anything in his power to make sure it was removed. He realized that in order to do this he would have to find someone close to Fudge who could be trusted.

* * *

Harry and Tonks returned to Potter Castle, after the meeting, to see how the research was going.

"Harry," Hermione said when he arrived in the library.

"We think we have determined what type of trace it is," she stated.

"That is great," Harry told her with pride.

"We believe that something they always carry around with them has been tampered with, and a voice/location tracer placed on it. It is very advanced magic and can only have been done by a powerful wizard," Hermione told him.

"Well in that case it would appear that someone else is behind this, I doubt Fudge is capable of place a trace that powerful on two people. We will have to be careful in future when dealing with him," replied Harry.

Hermione went on to explain the basic principle of the trace and Harry realized that he had seen something similar to this before. As he was considering the information he realized that the Dark Mark worked in a similar fashion.

"Oh Merlin, that explains everything," Harry suddenly blurted out.

"What?" asked Hermione and Ginny together as she hadn't been watching Harry's thought process.

"Voldemort's Dark Mark works exactly the same way as the trace. Based on that and the fact that only a powerful Wizard could create it leads me to believe that Voldemort himself set it up. The fact that the Minister is the one who is recording it must mean that not only does Fudge know he is alive, he is actually working with him."

"We have to tell someone," Hermione exclaimed.

"We can't, Fudge doesn't know that we have discovered the trace. We don't want to give away out advantage yet. We will just have to make sure we keep a closer eye on Fudge," replied Harry.

"What we need to do is work out how we stop it without alerting them that we know," Harry said a few minutes later.

"We have determined that it would be possible to block it, basically we can cast as spell on it which would allow Kingsley or Arthur to control when it records. They would have to ensure they only deactivate when in important meetings otherwise the Minister will become suspicious too," Hermione explained.

"Hmm, well done; that is very useful information," replied Harry. "Now we just have to determine what the trace has been placed on and make sure we can cast the spell wordlessly so that it doesn't activate."

"We were thinking that we would also use it to supply false information," stated Ginny.

"Right, like I just did. I think that is brilliant, we could feed just enough information for the Minister to really dig himself a deep hole," replied Harry.

"Exactly, and then we just work with Bill so that he gets all the information for his case against the Minister," replied Ginny.

"If we are clever about it, we may even be able to determine who is getting the information," Harry said as an after thought.

Harry pulled both girls into a hug and thanked them for their work.

Harry quickly sent a note to Kingsley, Arthur and Professor Dumbledore explaining what they had learnt. He asked Xavier to only deliver the letters to Arthur and Kingsley when they arrived home so no one at the Ministry would see anything.

* * *

After dinner that evening, Harry told Ginny that he needed to go out for a couple of hours. She had noticed he had been a little secretive recently but wasn't worried about it; she was doing the same and suspected that it had something to do with her birthday. They had recently learnt that it was possible to block the other from seeing what they were doing so were better able to keep these types of things from each other.

Harry had researched what horses would be good for breading and would be well suited to the environment around the castle. With the help of Molly and Arthur, he had been able to locate a dealer that had the horses they were looking for.

Harry asked Arthur to setup a meeting with the dealer so they could see the horses and make sure everything was in order. Before they arrived at the meeting, Harry changed his appearance and hid his scar; he also made himself look ten years older. He didn't want any chance of a link back to himself as it would surely raise questions. He also changed Arthur and Molly's appearance.

"Good evening, Mr. Ashwin," said Matthew Jones when they entered his office.

"Good evening, Mr. Jones," replied Arthur. "This is my wife and our friend James Evans."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ashwin and Mr. Evans. I am told by Mr. Ashwin that you are looking for a horse; is that correct?" asked Matthew Jones.

Harry thought that was an odd question as why else would they be there but didn't comment on it.

"Yes, sir, a gift for my wife. From my research I have determined that the Hackney best matches the environment that they will be living in," replied Harry.

"I am impressed, Mr. Evans, it is very rare for someone to come in with specific knowledge of what he is looking for," Matthew said with sincerity.

"As I said, this is a gift so it had to be perfect. I have already arranged for a couple of helpers to take care of the horses. We were lucky enough to have stables on our property when we moved in so we have everything needed to care for them.

"I would also like to plan for the future possibility of breeding them. Therefore, I would like at least one stallion and three mares to start with," stated Harry.

Matthew Jones was rarely shocked but today was one of those occasions. It wasn't often that he met someone who had done their homework. Normally, when they did, they were either not really interested in buying the actual horses or only wanted one.

"Well, Mr. Evans, I will need to contact my seller to make sure they have the four horses that you have requested. I assume that you will want to check the horses before buying them."

"Yes," replied Harry.

"Well, Mr. Evans, I will be in contact once I have spoken to the seller. When do you need them by," replied Matthew.

"I will need them by tenth of August," Harry told him.

After the meeting, Harry left with Arthur and Molly and they all returned to Potter Castle. Harry transformed them all back to normal before anyone saw them. Once he was back in the castle, Harry carefully placed everything that had happened behind his door, then relaxed the block on the bond.

' _Welcome back,_ ' said Ginny happily when he returned.

' _Hi, I know you hate it but I am certain the surprise will be worth it,_ ' replied Harry.

' _I have no doubt about that,_ ' Ginny told him as she shared just how much she loved him through the bond.

It wasn't long before they were both locked in their room kissing and gently exploring. They had become bolder whilst they had been at the castle but had still not consummated their marriage. It was one of the benefits of the bond; they knew they didn't have to have sex to show how much they loved each other so there was no pressure for them to actually proceed to that level.

They fell asleep in each other's arms as they did every night and had a long un-interrupted night.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Fawkes arrived with a message from Professor Dumbledore.

 _Harry,_

 _I would appreciate it if you would set aside some time today to discuss the trace that you found. I am very concerned as Kingsley has been involved in several very important meetings recently regarding Voldemort and his return._

 _Please, could you come to my office immediately after lunch._

 _Professor Dumbledore_

Harry quickly wrote a note back saying that they would be there.

The rest of the morning passed quickly for them. They had a defense session that morning and spent the time dueling and learning the first year Auror's spells for shields. By the end of the lesson, they were all able to produce even stronger shields, than before. Of course Harry and Ginny didn't really need to worry about it but wanted to learn anyway.

After lunch, the others disappeared while Harry and Ginny flashed with Xavier to Hogwarts.

"Thank you for coming," said Professor Dumbledore offering them a seat and lemon drop.

"You're welcome," replied Harry and Ginny together.

"I have been investigating this situation further and have determined that the trace on Kingsley has been in place for at least four months. We cannot be certain of how much information has been gathered but unfortunately, have to assume the worse," Dumbledore told them.

"We have also been able to determine that the trace has only been on Arthur for a week. It appears that someone has been watching the Burrow and noticed that they were often away overnight. Thankfully, Arthur always left his Ministry ID at the Burrow when they were away, so they would not have been able to find out anything, even if the Phoenix Wards were not in place.

"I have asked Fawkes to place the same wards around Grimmauld Place so that future Order meetings will never be spied upon again. To avoid causing issues for Kingsley, we are going to setup a separate Order meeting at a less secure location where we will discuss information we want the Minister to find out. That location will also be placed under the Fidilus so that it cannot be located," Dumbledore explained feeling very frustrated by what had been happening.

"Thank you for telling us," Harry told the Professor. "Now we just need to determine how much information they were able to get and whether any of it was sold. I will ask Bill Weasley to investigate any transactions that took place close to Order meetings if you could provide a list of dates. We can then start investigating each transaction and determine the source," Harry replied.

Harry knew that Dumbledore was feeling his age again, it had been happening more and more.

"Professor, I know we have had our differences in the past, but the only way we are going to beat Voldemort is if we work together. Therefore I am willing to tell you where we are staying and what we have been doing. In return, I request that you provide Ginny and I with all the information you have on Voldemort and the war."

Dumbledore considered Harry's request for a couple of minutes before deciding that he really didn't have any choice now. He had not made any progress on the Horcrux hunt, and knew that Harry was the only one who could face him in the end, so why not share.

"Thank you, Harry. I am willing to accept those terms and agree to fully disclose everything I know about Voldemort and anything I learn in the future," Dumbledore said while holding his wand, as he finished a flash of light burst from the wand indicating a magical contract had been established.

Harry proceeded to tell Dumbledore about Potter Castle and everything that was happening there. He told them about The New Marauder's and the training that they were doing even now during the summer. Because of the wards around the castle, none of them had to worry about performing magic outside of school.

Dumbledore offered to help with their training and asked if he could visit soon and talk with Sirius and Remus to see if there was anything that could be added. Harry agreed and told the Professor that he would be in contact later in the week.

Dumbledore shared everything that he knew about Voldemort, beginning with his childhood at the orphanage, to the time he started at Hogwarts, and thru all the years that he spent at the school. The story got a little sketchy from there, mainly because Voldemort took a lot of care to hide what he was doing from everyone.

They spent most of the afternoon discussing Voldemort. They determined that he most likely had used items of great importance to the Wizarding World for his Horcruxes as he always focused on pure-blood supremacy, so it was a natural extension of that.

At the end of the day Dumbledore felt a great weight lift of his shoulders as he no longer had to bare the burden of ending Voldemort reign, he had known since the attack on the Potter's that it would be up to Harry in the end but that didn't stop him from worrying.

Dumbledore watched the two young people in front of him and was again reminded that love really was the most powerful of magic. He no longer doubted that Harry could win; it was just a case of when he would.

 _A/N: Just in case anyone is wondering Fudge did overhear the conversation between Harry and Kingsley including the oath that Kingsley took. However he cannot do anything about it because that would give away the fact that he was spying on him. He is too thick to realize that the information Harry passed on was fake and will not do anything with the tape as it doesn't seem relevant so no one else will hear it._


	8. Chapter 8

Warning: There is a more mature scene in this chapter but it is still not too bad.

 **Chapter Eight**

The next couple of weeks passed very quickly for the occupants at Potter Castle. Professor Dumbledore was now a regular visitor, and had been helping them a great deal with their training.

Harry had waited until the next scenario training session before inviting him, so that he could see them tackle a situation that most fully training Aurors would struggle with. He watched with great interest as each team entered the arena and went about tackling the task.

During the evaluation afterwards, he gave each team feedback based on how they had done and really helped them to understand why it wasn't always important to get straight to the hostage. Having a better understand of the environment can give you a bigger advantage. He also encouraged them all to learn how to create anti-Apparition and anti-Portkey wards so they could place them over an area to stop anyone escaping.

The teens were excited to be learning from Dumbledore and endeavoured to take everything he had suggested to heart. This was clearly demonstrated when the twins placed anti-Apparition wards around his room at Potter Castle causing him to be late for an important staff meeting at the school. He congratulated them on being able to create them without him noticing, of course the fact that he was now able to sleep was the reason but he wasn't going to tell them that.

* * *

The next potion lesson had been very interesting, as each couple came up with something that would benefit the war but like some of the other discoveries, could be employed by both sides, so they determined that they were going to keep it top secret and on a need to know basis.

Fred and Hermione had designed a new potion that would cause temporary blindness when it struck an enemy. They had designed a capsule that would allow them to store the potion and when activated, would explode on contact. It didnt matter where it hit the person as long as it touched their skin. The blindness would last until the antidote had been administered. They also decided that they would provide the antidote to trusted people so if they were accidentally hit, or someone stole a capsule, it would not be effective against them for long. The potion and antidote required three weeks to brew; during which time they were going to teach the elves how to create the capsules so that they could start building a stockpile of them.

George, Katie, Neville and Luna had collaborated on a potion that would allow the person who drank it to basically be able to create simple projections of their body. They would have limited control of the projections but it should be enough to confuse the enemy during a battle and give them an advantage. The potion was very complex and required three months to brew, so they all decided to research other potions while making it.

Harry and Ginny had researched various potions and in the end, decide to use a potion that allowed a trace to be placed on someone. It was undetectable by most known methods and had been long forgotten. They found the instructions in one of the books from Gryffindors vault. It was also a complex potion that would require four months to brew. There were also two other potions that accompanied it, the antidote that allowed the trace to be removed completely and a detection potion that would reveal the presence of the trace. They were going to work on each of them at the same time.

Professor Dumbledore had been very impressed when they presented their research at the lesson, and agreed with Sirius and Remus that they should all begin making them. He asked them to make sure that they fully documented the processes they followed as they would be able to publish these after the war and earn themselves extra credit for their hard work.

He also asked each group to present their potion at a future Order meeting when it was completed. He could see they were hesitant to do that but advised them only the ones he fully trusted would be there and they would not want to give away such an advantage.

* * *

It was now common knowledge to all the Potter Castle residents that only four of bedrooms were being used by the teens. They had hidden it at first but once Molly caught all of them in the wrong rooms on several occasions she realize that no matter how much she fought against it they were still going to do as they wished, so she chose to ignore it.

Of course she insisted on giving Hermione, Luna and Katie the talk and made Arthur do the same for the twins and Neville. Harry and Ginny couldn't miss such an opportunity and made sure to completely embarrass each of them.

Needless to say none of the couples wanted to risk the wrath of Molly Weasley after that, so they all made sure they at least had contraceptive potions available just in case.

One evening Harry decided it was time for a little prank against Remus and Tonks so as everyone was sitting down in the sitting room relaxing Harry approached Remus and with a mischievous smile said "Remus, I think we need to have a talk."

Remus looked confused for a second before responding, "Okay then, whats on your mind."

"Erm, I think this should be done somewhere privately," Harry said pretending to be nervous.

"I am sure the others will find out eventually, might as well just talk in here," replied Remus wondering what could have Harry so nervous.

"If you insist," Harry said before clearing his throat. At this point everyone in the room include the Portraits where completely focused on Harry and Remus.

"Well its like this you see. When a man and woman like each other a lot they might want to do some things together..."

Harry wasn't able to continue as everyone in the room was howling with laughter at the shocked expression on Remus's face.

Before Remus could respond Harry flashed out of the room and collapsed on his bed shaking with laughter. He was joined a few seconds later by a very amused Ginny.

"That was bloody brilliant," Ginny stated.

"It was, oh I wish there was a way of printing out memories," replied Harry as he continued to laugh.

A while later they returned to the sitting room to find the others all sitting around talking.

"Harry, that was brilliant," Sirius told him when he walked in. "I don't think I have ever seen Remus so shocked in my life."

"I have a long memory, Mr. Potter," Remus said as he walked up and hugged him. "But that was one of the better pranks I have seen."

Remus walked away mumbling to himself about pay back, Harry knew he would have to watch out for a while but it was worth it.

* * *

The end of July was approaching quickly; everyone at the castle was so involved in the training that they hadn't even realized it. Harry had visited Mr. Jones several times since their first meeting and had met with a seller to check the horses. He was very pleased with the breeding information that was provided for each horse, and after arranging for a vet to check them, agreed to purchase all four. Harry arranged for the horses to be transported to a farm nearby.

Harry was surprised that he had been able to keep the secret from Ginny for so long; he didn't like hiding things from her but knew it would be worth it.

During supper most evenings they would discuss what was happening around the Wizarding World. What surprised everyone most was the lack of activity by Voldemort. They expected after what had happened towards the end of last term that he would be more active, and that worried them a little.

They were not sure if it was because he was still recovering from the injuries, or because of the large number of Dementors that had been killed during the failed attacks.

Professor Dumbledore was still not making any progress on the Horcrux search; he had been able to find out some information, but none of it led to a location. The only thing that they had determined was that he had never told anyone - even his inner circle - about them.

* * *

The night before Harry's birthday, Harry and Ginny were exploring their shared mind further. They had often retreated there when they wanted to spend more time together than their busy days allowed. Today, for some reason, they were pulled towards the edge of their mind. As they moved closer, Harry spotted something that they had never seen before. They were reluctant to get any closer but realized they would never find out what it was if they didn't.

"It looks like a door," Ginny said as they stepped closer.

"Why would there be a door here?" replied Harry looking confused.

"I don't know, Harry; this is different to the doors we have to keep little secrets," Ginny said as she looked at the door closely.

"Do you feel that?" asked Harry as he felt a cold draft coming from the door.

"Yes," replied Ginny without moving.

Deciding that they should talk to Xavier before proceeding further, they quickly summon him.

"Thank you for coming," Harry said as Xavier appeared in there mind.

"Whats wrong, Harry," Xavier asked.

"We were exploring today and found this door; it isn't like the ones we have created."

Xavier examined the door closely before approaching it. When he stood right before the door he could feel the evil on the other side. He focused his Phoenix magic on the door and determined that whatever was on the other side could not get through the door, he wasn't sure if it had tried.

Xavier spent some time considering what this door represented. At one point he disappeared from their mind. Harry and Ginny waited patiently for him to return as they were not going to approach the door until they were certain it wasn't dangerous. When Xavier finally returned he looked towards the door once again before turning to them.

"Harry, when Voldemort attempted to kill you, we believe he accidentally created a link to you. We can all sense the evil on the other side of the door, which almost certainly confirms that this door is the entry point for the link. Since you became a Phoenix there is no way he could have accessed your mind without you knowing he was there. The fact that he has not attempted to, most likely means that he doesn't know it exists," Xavier finally told them.

"Do you think we could use the door?" asked Harry formulating a plan.

"We believe that you would be able to; what we don't know is if you willingly open the door, will it allow him access. Therefore we should place strong wards around it before we proceed. If you are careful, and use the Phoenix abilities you have already learned, you may be able to access his mind without him knowing you are there," replied Xavier.

"I don't like this, Harry," Ginny told him.

"I don't either, Gin. But this could give us the answers we need regarding the Horcruxes. We may even be able to spy on him directly; I am sure that there are things that he keeps from Snape and the other death eaters that we could use."

Ginny still looked uncomfortable with all this but agreed to at least try. Using their Phoenix magic, they created the most powerful wards they could around the door so that when it was opened, nothing could get past the wards.

Harry slowly walked up to the door. At first it refused to move, but after some effort, Harry was able to pull it open. What they found was worse than they could ever have imagined. They had no doubt that it was Voldemort as the scene before them was nothing short of pure evil, everywhere they looked they could see evidence of the crimes that he had committed, or the plans that he had. They proceeded cautiously to determine if Voldemort was able to detect their presence; when nothing happened, they started to carefully look around, trying to find anything that would be useful to them.

An hour later, they had not found anything that they could use. They had however learned that they could watch and hear what was going on around Voldemort. That was when they learned that there would be a Death Eater meeting in two days.

They carefully retreated back to their own mind and closed the door. They placed several more wards over the door to alert them if anyone attempted to open it.

"Well, that was disturbing," Harry said as they walked away from the door leaving the other wards in place just in case.

"You can say that again," said Ginny with a shiver.

"I don't want to go back in there ever again, but we need to continue exploring until we have found some information that will help us destroy him," Harry said reluctantly.

"I agree, Harry; we should limit our visits however to avoid him detecting us. We should also talk to Professor Dumbledore about this and tell him what we have already learned," Ginny said.

The two of them sat talking about what they had seen in Voldemort's mind, after many hours they finally fell into a deep sleep with Xavier singing into the bond to calm them.

* * *

Harry woke up the next morning to a very pleasurable sensation that he had not felt before. When he finally opened his eyes and looked down, he was rather shocked at what he saw but soon lay back and enjoyed it.

' _Happy Birthday, Harry,_ ' said Ginny as she continued.

' _It will be if this is anything to go by,_ ' replied Harry happily as his body reacted to what Ginny was doing.

A while later they both walked into the bathroom to enjoy a bath together. They knew their relationship had changed once again and were more than happy at the new level of feelings that it had brought to them.

Harry had never felt like this before and silently promised to do the same for Ginny on her birthday.

When they finally arrived in the dining room for breakfast, the whole room had been decorated for Harry's birthday. As soon as he walked in, all of them, including Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Longbottom and Professor Dumbledore wished him happy birthday.

He quickly thanked each of them and they all sat down to a large breakfast that Maxim and his team had prepared. All of Harry's favorites where served and he made sure to eat some of each.

Once breakfast was finished, Sirius told him that they didn't have to worry about lessons that day, and so, could enjoy themselves. It was going to be a hot day, so Harry decided they should spend it outside.

They were soon flying around the Quidditch Pitch and, to everyones delight, Professor Dumbledore agreed to play too. The first match had all the adults against the teens; it was a very entertaining game even if it was a little one sided. They were amazed by Molly and Professor Dumbledore who played much better than any of the teens had expected. In the end the teens won 320-90 but it had not been easy.

The second match was men against ladies. Ginny thought that it would be a good idea. If it had not been for Harry being able to get to the snitch just before Ginny, then they would have lost badly. As it was, they only lost by twenty points.

' _Hey, you are supposed to let me win,_ ' grumbled Harry as they landed on the pitch for lunch.

' _Oh, I am sorry, baby,_ ' Ginny said before kissing him thoroughly.

' _Hmm, I might just have to forgive you,_ ' replied Harry with a smile.

Maxim had once again served a superb meal which they all enjoyed.

"I am glad we played before lunch," Professor Dumbledore said after they had finished eating. "I don't think I will be able to fly after that meal."

"I agree," said Arthur.

"So, what do you want to do this afternoon," Sirius asked Harry as they cleaned up after lunch.

"I think I am going to lounge around the pool and do nothing," Harry told him.

"Sounds like a great idea to me," Sirius told him.

"So, do you fancy trying to cook on the barbeque again?" asked Harry before laughing.

"Sure thing, I am sure Arthur will help me," replied Sirius as he looked over at Arthur. Several groans where heard from those around them before the kids burst out laughing. Once they had explained to the others what had happened last time, everyone was having a laugh at Sirius expense.

"I will show you," Sirius said before transforming and racing off towards the house.

Harry transformed into his Lion form and chased after Sirius. They had a wrestle for a while before transforming back.

"That was wicked," Sirius said.

"Yes, we should do this more often," replied Harry with a smile.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around the pool or swimming. Hermione had explained to Professor Dumbledore how water slides worked and it wasn't long before they had created a rather complex design setup. The teens spent hours racing down the various tubes; it wasn't long before the adults joined them.

Sirius and Arthur managed to get the barbeque going well by dinner time had a large selection of food cooking; everyone was impressed and enjoyed a great meal.

After they had eaten, Molly appeared with a large cake for Harry and they all sang happy birthday to him.

"Make a wish," shouted Fred before he blew out the candles.

Harry thought for a second before saying to Ginny via the bond ' _Hmm, I wish for a repeat of this morning._ '

' _I think that could be arranged,_ ' replied Ginny as he blew out the candles.

Once they had finished the cake, they all gather round to watch Harry open his presents. He was surprised by the number of gifts but wasnt complaining.

The other members of The New Marauders had brought Harry a new set of professional Quidditch balls. Sirius got Harry the latest Firebolt. Remus and Tonks got Harry seeker gloves and several books on seeker moves. Professor Dumbledore gave Harry a selection of his personal books on advanced magic. James and Lily had asked Sirius to get Harry a dragon skin suit that had been charmed to resist most spells. Arthur, Molly and Augusta brought Harry a new pair of glasses that would automatically adjust for his eyesight, allowed him to see people under invisibility cloaks, and would stop the rain from affecting him when playing Quidditch. Ginny gave Harry a hand painted portrait of them together and gold watch which had hands like her parents clock at home. It only had two at the moment but the note inside told him that she looked forward to one day adding some more to the watch.

It had been by far the best birthday that Harry had ever had. A whole day spent with his best friends, his beautiful wife, and the adults that meant the most to him.

"Thank you, guys; this has been by far the best birthday ever," Harry told them as a tear ran down his cheek. It was a tear of pure joy and happiness. Ginny gently snuggled into him and kissed the tear away.

"Harry, there is a letter for you as well. I think it may be from your Aunt and Cousin," Ginny quietly told him as they cuddled.

"Thanks, Gin. I will read it later. Firstly I would like to speak to my parents," Harry told her before flashing them both to the sitting room.

* * *

"Happy Birthday," his parents said when they arrived in the room.

"Thanks," replied Harry, with a grin a mile wide.

"I take it you had a good day from the large smile," Lily said.

"Yes, it has been by far the best ever. Thank you for the present," Harry told them with another smile.

"You're welcome, Harry. We are just sorry we could not be there in person," replied Lily sadly.

"You may not be here physically," Harry replied. "But you will always be here in my heart," Harry continued as he held his hand over his heart.

His parents both smiled at that. Harry and Ginny spent the next hour telling them everything that had happened during the day and what presents Harry had received. As he was about to leave he suddenly remembered the letter.

"I got a letter, we think it is from Petunia," Harry told them.

"Do you mind reading it here?" asked Lily.

Without responding, Harry pulled out the letter from his pocket and opened it so they could all see.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Happy Birthday. I know this may come as a surprise to you as this is the first time we have even acknowledged your Birthday. After what happened this summer we felt that it was time to make some changes._

 _By the time you read this we will have already turned ourselves in to the local police. Dudley and I have had a lot of time to think since Vernon was arrested and we realized just how badly we treated you when you lived with us. We have decided to tell the police everything and will let them, and you, decide what our fate will be._

 _We know that we don't deserve any forgiveness for what we did, but we hope that you are more like your mother than us. If you can find it in your heart to forgive us, we ask that you do. We will accept any decision you make about us, and will not hold it against you._

 _Aunt Petunia and Dudley_

Harry was gob smacked. Before he opened the letter, he wasn't sure what he expected, but this certainly wasn't it. None of them said anything for several minutes after finishing the letter.

Eventually Lily spoke up, "What are you thinking, Harry?"

"I don't know what I am thinking at the moment; it is all a complete shock," responded Harry.

"Well, it seems that you have an important decision to make. If it helps, I think that you should at least forgive them, even if you decide to press charges against them for what they did," Lily offered.

"I will think about it, Mum," replied Harry honestly.

They spent a little longer talking with Harry's parents before heading off to bed. As they were walking back to their room Ginny told Harry to stop thinking about the letter. They could worry about that another day, for now she wanted him to enjoy the rest of the evening and what she had planned. His mind was completely taken off the letter when she flashed an image of what had happened that morning and what she planned to do when they got to the room.

Much later after enjoying time together they fell into a deep relaxing sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Harry woke feeling on top of the world. He had his arms wrapped around the most amazing woman that he had ever known. His relatives, who had abused him most of his life, had turned themselves in to the police, and he had just celebrated his fifteenth birthday.

"Well, good morning," said Ginny happily when she sense just how happy Harry was.

"Good morning, beautiful," replied Harry before leaning down and kissing her soundly. "Have I told you recently just how bloody gorgeous you are?"

"I think you just did," replied Ginny cheekily.

"Good, because it is true," Harry told her before kissing her again.

"Wow, I cant believe how happy you are!" exclaimed Ginny after the kiss.

"I have everything I ever wished for when I was growing up; it didn't really occur to me until last night," Harry told her as he showed her the memories of yesterday and just what they meant to him.

Ginny pulled Harry down into a hug and just held him for a few minutes. It was another moment where words were not needed. They had each other and that was all that mattered.

They finally got up and dressed for the day. As they headed down to breakfast, Harry told Ginny that he was going to contact Bill and tell him about the Dursley's. He wanted to get his opinion on what they had said, and determine what options they would have. He wasn't sure how he wanted to proceed and didn't want to make a quick decision.

After breakfast they returned to their normal routine. Sirius wanted to test them again and had asked Dumbledore to design the challenge scenario based on his knowledge of previous encounters with Voldemort.

"Good morning," Sirius told them.

"For today's challenge all eight of you are going to need to work together. As with other challenges, you will be able to revive anyone who gets stunned, however we have added an additional element. Fawkes will be asked to remove one or more of you from the arena as though you had died or been badly injured during the battle. This is to test your ability to think under pressure and see how you adjust you tactics based on the situation," continued Sirius.

They quickly nominated Harry to be the leader of the group and, after a short time to plan, the scenario began. They entered the arena to find a large number of Dummies directly in front of them. The dummies immediately started attacking and were not giving them much chance to counter.

Harry quickly split the group into three and directed them to take cover and start an alternating attack pattern. One person from each group would maintain a strong shield whilst the others would attack. Using this technique they were able to quickly break through the first group of dummies.

As they move forward, they found a second set of dummies that were using more advanced spells. Harry quickly transformed and used his Phoenix abilities to determine how many there were and the best direction to approach from. He spotted a weakness and immediately transformed back and directed two of the groups to attack that section whilst his group defended them.

They were making steady progress against ever stronger dummies when Fawkes flashed into the arena and removed Harry.

Ginny panicked when Harry first disappeared but quickly realized that she couldn't focus on that, if they stopped now it could spell disaster for the whole mission. Reluctantly at first Ginny took over the team and coordinated the attack, but as they made further progress she realized that with the bond and abilities that she was able to continue what Harry had planned even though he had blocked himself out to make it more realistic.

They slowly made there way towards the castle taking out the various groups of dummies, at one point Luna was injured and they took cover to help heal her. While they took cover the dummies relocated themselves causing the group to have to divert around them. After almost an hour they finally approached the entrance to the castle, they were surprised to see no dummies at all protecting it.

"I don't like this," Ginny whispered as they surveyed the area.

"There has to be a trap or something," replied Hermione.

As they continued to debate how to approach the castle, Ginny remember her Phoenix abilities and reached out to sense what was around the entrance. It was then that she noticed the large group of invisible dummies surrounding the draw bridge.

"Found them, they are invisible we need a distraction then can attack them as they reveal themselves," Ginny told them.

"What do we do?" asked Hermione.

"On of us needs to transform into their lion form and then run towards the entrance. I doubt they are expecting an animal to approach so most likely will ignore you until it is too late. When they start attacking we will be ready and take them out," Ginny told them.

Fred transformed into his lion form and when everyone was ready he set off towards the castle. As they expected the dummies ignored the approaching lion until he was almost upon them. As soon as he stepped past the first dummy all of them revealed themselves and started attacking. Fred was quickly Stunned but had given them the advantage they needed and the rest of the quickly took out the dummies.

They soon revived Fred and then made it into the castle, however as soon as they did Fawkes returned again; this time to removed Neville and Luna. The five remaining quickly took cover while they reviewed the situation and determine how best to proceed. Fred and George were keeping watch while they were discussing it.

Ginny once again reached out with her Phoenix abilities so they could plot a course through the castle to find the hostage. Once the plan was finalized they set off and quickly took care of the remaining dummies. It was obvious that no one had expected them all to get that far as the castle only had a few dummies.

They finally arrived in the room with the hostage and after a quick surveyed, to make sure there were no other dummies, declaring the battle over.

"Congratulations," Dumbledore told them all.

"I am very impressed with all of you," added Tonks who had been watching.

Kingsley, who had been invited for the first time to watch one of the scenarios, came up and spoke to them all, "Well done, this challenge was more advanced than any we use during Auror training. Not only were you able to complete the scenario successfully, but you also adapted when you need to.

"Ginny, you showed a level of maturity I have not seen for a long time; you hesitate a little when Harry was removed from the arena but quickly adapted and took control. You knew that it would not help anyone if you were distracted by what had happened.

"There may be times when someone is badly injured, and your first and correct instinct would be to protect them, but that may not always be possible, or feasible."

Kingsley told them all that he would be willing to help train them and would work closely with Tonks to get any additional training material they needed.

The group soon headed back to the dining room for lunch and spent the rest of the day relaxing and talking about the scenario and ways they could improve. It also gave them several new ideas for weapons they could use during battles.

"I think we should design some form of stun grenade like the Muggle army has," said Hermione.

"What do you mean," asked Professor Dumbledore.

"They have a crude device that explodes and causes those close to the grenade to be temporarily knocked out. If we design a similar device, that could stun everyone with a certain distance, it would quickly take out groups of attackers. It would be particularly effective against the Death Eaters as they would not be expecting anything like that," Hermione explained.

"That is an excellent idea, Hermione," Dumbledore replied.

"Thank you, sir," replied Hermione with a pretty blush.

"It is us that should be thanking you; anything that will help in this war is a gift," replied Dumbledore with a smile. He could tell that Hermione was already deep in thought about the proposal and wouldn't be surprised to find her in the library for the rest of the day, researching.

It wasn't long before all eight of them were in research mode trying to design the grenade.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Two days after Harry's birthday, Bill contacted him via the Floo to say that he had met with Petunia and Dudley. They had indeed turned themselves in to the police, as they said they would. During the meeting the police had handed over the confessions from them and told him that unless Harry pressed charges there wasn't much they could do.

"You have two options, Harry," Bill explained. "The first is to press charges against them for what they did. It would go to court, and based on their own confessions and the evidence we found, while searching the house after your Uncle's arrest; they would definitely be convicted."

"That is tempting, but they have at least shown some remorse, so I would rather not go that far," replied Harry after some thought.

"The second option is to ask them to testify against your Uncle. With their added testimony there is very little doubt that he would go away for a very long time; most likely for the rest of his life," Bill advised.

"Do you think they would do that?" asked Harry.

"I don't know, Harry. I would say based on what they have done so far that it is very likely they would. I didn't want to even suggest it to them without talking to you first," replied Bill.

Harry turned to Ginny as he considered the options.

"Harry, I think you should talk to your parents," suggested Ginny.

Harry thought about everything for a moment before realizing that Ginny was right.

"You're right," replied Harry as he turned back to Bill.

"Bill, we will get back to you later today with a decision. I don't want to make one without considering the implications of both options."

"No problem, Harry. I will be in the office for the rest of the day," replied Bill before his head disappeared from the fireplace.

Harry and Ginny headed down to the sitting room and explained everything to his parents. After some consideration, they all agreed that they would at least try the second option and if they refused, would then press charges.

Harry contacted Bill and let him know the decision. Bill told him that everything would be taken care of, and he would let them know once they had made a decision.

* * *

Several days before Ginny's birthday, Katie finally felt ready to take the Animagus potion. She had watched the others disappear into the forest on several occasions in their forms and desperately wanted to share that with them. She resolved to talk with Harry at breakfast and get the potion so that she could start practicing.

After the morning run and training session they were all sitting down enjoying breakfast when Katie approached Harry confidently. "Harry, I'm ready to take the Animagus potion."

Harry looked up from his conversation with Ginny looking pleased that Katie was ready to proceed.

"Okay, I will bring a vial at lunch time. I suggest that you return to your room and take it," Harry responded.

"Thanks, Harry," Katie replied with a smile.

"No problem; I am glad you are ready. It is amazing how much freedom it gives you," Harry told her as they continued to eat breakfast.

The morning passed quickly for all of them. Katie was too excited about taking the potion to really concentrate in the session, which caused her to drop her guard a couple of times during her duel. Thankfully, they were only using mild curses that day so she was more embarrassed then hurt.

Tonks noticed that she was distracted and spoke to her afterwards to make sure she was okay. She was excited for her when she found that about the potion.

Lunch was served as usual on the patio; the weather had been so good all summer that they refused to eat inside unless it was actually raining.

"Katie, here is the potion," Harry said as they finished eating.

"Thanks, Harry," she replied happily.

"Don't forget to sit down before taking the potion; you will fall into a trance after drinking it, and you won't come out of it until you have seen your form," Harry told her before she left for her room. George accompanied her and was looking forward to finding out what her form, or as they suspected, forms, would be.

Katie and George walked hand in hand to the room, but she was too nervous to say anything; she was thankful that George was there for her. They had been growing closer and closer over the summer, and she had come to depend on his company. She had not told anyone the truth about her family. She had told them that they were travelling Europe; the truth was they had actually abandoned her when they found out that Voldemort had returned. She wanted to tell George but was afraid of what he would say.

When they finally got to the room she sat on the bed and after a kiss from George took the potion. It wasn't long before she collapsed into her trance.

She woke to find a white mist surrounding her; at first she thought that the potion had not worked and then worried she didn't have a form. She soon realized that she was no longer in the room with George but somewhere else. As she continued to look around movement to her left caused her to jump. She reached for her wand before realizing it wasn't there.

She watched carefully as a beautiful fox approached her, she studied the fox closely and realized that it had her eyes. She watched as the fox gracefully walked around and finally walked right up to her, she was surprised at how comfortable she felt in its presence and knelt down before it. She wasn't sure how long they stayed that way, but suddenly the fox jumped up and disappeared.

Expecting the trance to end, Katie started to look around again but the mist didn't disappear. A few minutes later she spotted another animal approaching, this was larger then the fox but couldn't make out what it was at the moment. As with the fox, she didn't feel concerned as it approached. Finally it was close enough for her to see a large lioness. As with the fox its eyes matched hers, she continued to kneel, as she waited for it to approach, so she could see it closely. It wasn't long before the lioness was directly in front of her; she again was amazed at its beauty. She continued to study the lioness, memorizing how it moved around and its physical characteristics.

Finally, Katie awoke from her trance and was over the moon; she turned and found George sitting next to the bed reading.

"Hi," she said once she woke up.

"Hey, baby," replied George as he placed the book on the bed and kissed her.

"How did it go," he asked a moment later.

"I have two forms," she replied happily.

"Brilliant," George told her excitedly.

"Yes, my first form was a fox and then I saw a lioness," she told him.

"That's so cool, I have the same forms," replied George mildly surprised that they were the same.

"Really, must be weird being a lioness," smirked Katie before jumping on him and kissing his passionately.

"Oh, ha ha," replied George after the kiss.

"I can't wait to start practicing," she told him and then started to get up.

"It can be frustrating at first, but once it starts to work it is the most amazing feeling in the world. Well actually kissing you is the most amazing," replied George before pulling her into another very passionate kiss.

A while later they both emerged from Katie's room, having spent most of the time in bed together. They walked down the stairs hand in hand to the patio as they were sure they would all be out there. They were not surprise to see them lounging around the pool, Fred and Hermione were currently racing each other down the water slides seeing who could make the most noise. They had recently extended the slides to make them longer and faster which added to the excitement, but also meant they hit the water very quickly.

Hermione had recently found a way to ensure their bikinis didn't come off when they hit the water at the bottom. She had had a rather embarrassing accident a few weeks before and to make it worse hadn't even noticed when she came out of the water until Ginny quickly produced a towel for her.

Once they spotted Katie standing next to the pool, they all jumped out to find out what forms she had. Remus and Sirius were also excited to find out. She quickly told them her forms and they all talked excitedly.

It didn't escape Harry or Ginny's notice that she had identically forms to George, but they choose not to say anything about it.

Harry told her before dinner that she should think of a Marauder name and advised her that all of them had selected theirs based on their first form. Once she had a name, they would officially initiate her into The New Marauder's.

Later that evening, Katie was already starting to practice her fox form. It was slow and frustrating but she was determined to complete the transformations before the end of the summer. George encouraged her as she practiced and was able to share with her how he felt when practicing each form.

* * *

The next morning, all of them had once again gathered in the potions lab for their session. They were all excited as they had recently completed the design for the stun grenade and could now start making them.

"Good morning," Remus said as he walked into the room closely followed by Professor Dumbledore. "I asked Professor Dumbledore to join us today as we will start working on the construction of the stun grenades."

"Good morning," they all replied.

"Before we start this morning I wanted to again congratulate you on the hard work that you have put into creating these," Dumbledore told them. "It saddens me a great deal that you even had to worry about such things. You have all experienced more horrors than anyone should have to deal with, the fact that you have confronted those horrors and actively done something about it, is a testament to your unity and courage.

"With these and the other items you have been working on this summer, we are going to start having a distinct advantage against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The more damage we can do to Voldemort, the longer it will take him to rise to power again and we can be better prepared to face him."

After Dumbledore had finished his little speech they all proceeded to work on the construction of the grenades. Harry had asked Sandy and her team of elves to join them for the session so they could all observe the process, once they had finalized it and completed testing the elves would take over the process and create a stockpile for them.

They quickly realized that the process had to be handled very carefully; at one point three of them were laid out cold when one grenade exploded accidentally. Thankfully none of them were hurt and construction quickly resumed.

At the end of the session they had created ten grenades and arranged to test them after eating. Dumbledore had already disappeared to the training room to setup a scenario that would fully test the effectiveness of the grenades.

Lunch was over quickly and they all made their way down to the training room to get started. Dumbledore explained that he wanted to test both their ability to understand the scenario, how effective the grenades were when used, and also how well they used them.

They proceeded into the scenario and quickly spotted a few dummies scattered around; Harry determined that they would not be able to use any of the grenades at the moment as they were too spread out and would only affect one dummy at a time. As they proceeded through the scenario, they came across a large group of dummies, they were using a brick wall for cover and could not be hit directly without causing the caster to be too exposed. Harry signalled to Hermione that she needed to throw the grenade over the wall about ten meters from the left, as that had the large group of dummies. She quickly activated the grenade and threw it perfectly, all that time practicing Quidditch with the others was paying off. The grenade landed in the middle of the dummies and a second later exploded knocking out all but two of them.

Harry quickly finished the other two using the moment of confusion to their advantage. They continued with the scenario and made very good use of the grenades, they were down to their final one when Harry realized that there was a large group of dummies to the right of them. He was about to use the grenade on that group when he sense something. Using his Phoenix abilities he discovered a single dummy hidden to the left. Realizing that they would not be able to get the dummy directly he chose instead to use the grenade against it and advise the rest to be ready to attack the larger group when the grenade exploded.

Harry activated the grenade and threw it directly at the hidden dummy. As soon as it exploded, the group jumped up from their hiding place and started firing curses at the group of dummies. Due to the confusion of the grenade exploding to their left, and the sudden barrage of spells, they were quickly defeated. After one last check of the scenario in his Phoenix form Harry declared victory.

"That was brilliant," Sirius told them when afterwards.

"Thanks," replied Harry it had been hard work but they were very happy with the results.

"I must congratulate you, Harry; to be honest, I really expected you to miss that last test and you passed perfectly. I added that element because I wanted you to all realize that sometimes it is better to concentrate on the one rather than the larger group. If you had used the grenade against the large group you may have been able to defeat all of them, but could well have lost members of your team doing so," Dumbledore told them all.

"Did you have any problems with the grenades," Remus asked them as they left the training room.

"No, they worked perfectly. The only two enhancements we should consider, is having the ability to set a time delay, and we should design a device that would allow us to place them as we move, though an area. That would take care of anyone who tried to sneak around us," Harry replied.

"That's an interesting idea, Harry," Dumbledore stated, having listen to his idea. "What made you think of that?"

"I realized as we were working through the scenario, that we were not really checking our backs. If we had missed any of the dummies or some had been able to get behind us, we may not have been aware until it was too late," Harry told him as they continued to walk to the dining room.

"That sounds like a mine that the Army uses," offered Hermione as they continued to discuss the idea.

"Again, I am impressed; I didn't even consider that but will make sure we include those types of things in future scenarios because you are quite correct. The Death Eaters are very likely to approach from behind and there will also be times when they are hidden by cloaks or charms.

"I would suggest that when you design this mine, you consider having a way of stopping the device from exploding if you approach, and also have a way to alert you when it has been triggered. These would give you an even bigger advantage," Dumbledore told them.

"Yes, Sir," replied Harry. Hermione and Ginny were already deep in thought about the design of the mine and he left them to consider it as he talked with Dumbledore about the Death Eater meeting that evening.

* * *

That evening, Harry and Ginny nervously entered their mind. They were not looking forward to this, mainly because they had no idea what to expect.

They carefully entered Voldemort's mind as they had before. The first thing they noticed was that nothing had changed in the immediately area around the door, confirming their assumption that Voldemort had not detected their presence last time. They quickly found the same location they had observed the last discussion and waited to see what would happen.

They didn't have to wait long before the Death Eaters started appearing; they were surprised by how many of them there were. Each one greeted Voldemort, by kneeling before him and kissing the hem of his robe, before joining the others. Once all the greetings were complete, Voldemort spoke.

"My friends," Voldemort started. Harry thought that it was an interesting greeting for he really doubted any of them were really friends.

"Since I have returned we have been plagued by 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' and his friends. It is time we dealt with them properly, but to do that we are going to need to get the full Prophecy.

"Goyle, I want you to determine how we can get into the Department of Mysteries to retrieve the Prophecy. It is critical that you are not detected. Your life depends on you returning it successfully.

"Crabbe, I want you to make contact with the giants and to convince them to join me," Voldemort ordered.

"Yes, Master," replied Crabbe.

The meeting continued for some time with Voldemort ordering the Death Eaters to start recruiting more people. He also ordered them to start planning attacks on Muggles so they could announce his return properly.

As the meeting was coming to an end, he dismissed most of the Death Eaters but asked Snape to remain behind.

"Severus, I wanted to thank you for the potion for my arms," Voldemort said.

"It was nothing, Master. I am happy to be able to serve you," replied Snape cautiously. It was very rare for Voldemort to thank anyone which automatically put him on his guard.

"Now, tell me about this potion that you helped Harry Potter create," replied Voldemort.

Snape, to his credit, didn't react, to that but calmly looked at Voldemort before responding. He proceeded cautiously as he wasn't sure how much Voldemort knew; he could not know what the potion actually was, so most likely only knew that Snape had been helping him.

"Potter and his girlfriend approached me about a potion to help fix his eyesight. They thought they had found something in an old library book that would help him. After reviewing it, I realized that it would never work but seized the opportunity to spy on them closely. I told them I would help and that it would take several months to brew the potion," Snape told him smoothly.

"And what did you observe?" asked Voldemort.

"That they are both useless at potions, Master," replied Snape quickly.

"I don't care about that," spat Voldemort angrily.

"I am sorry, Master. I believe that the Weasley girl is hanging around Potter for a free ride. It is obvious to me that he doesn't care about her but likes to have her around. It wouldn't surprise me if they were sleeping together," replied Snape with a smirk.

"Thank you, Severus. When I heard about them being together I thought that she would make a perfect target," Voldemort told him.

"I don't believe so," replied Snape. "Potter would just see her as another casualty of the war and move on to someone else."

"Were you able to learn anything else," replied Voldemort.

"Only that Harry is aware of the Prophecy but hasn't been told the full version yet."

"Are you certain?" Voldemort replied.

"Yes, Master. His mind is unprotected and I have been able to determine what he knows," replied Snape.

"Very well, you are dismissed," Voldemort told him.

Harry and Ginny were about to leave Voldemort's mind when someone else approached him.

"Kneel," Voldemort said.

"Yes, Master," replied the woman.

"I have arranged for you to be at Hogwarts starting in September," Voldemort stated.

"Yes, Master," she replied.

"I am starting to suspect Severus isn't being honest with me. I want you to keep a close watch on him and report back to me. Then there is the issue of what to do about Harry Potter," Voldemort said.

"I will deal with him, Master," she replied.

"Very good, I will expect results before long," replied Voldemort before getting up from his seat and leaving the room.

Harry and Ginny quickly left his mind and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Harry and Ginny travelled with Xavier to Hogwarts to meet with Dumbledore and Snape.

"Good morning," Professor Dumbledore said after they arrived. Xavier settled on the perch next to Fawkes and began communicating with him.

"Good morning, Albus," they both replied.

"Professor Snape has already told me what happened last night at the meeting," Dumbledore told them as they sat down.

"Before we tell you the rest of what we saw, I wanted to thank you Professor for what you told Voldemort about Ginny and I," Harry said as he looked him directly in the eye.

"You're welcome, Potter. I knew that Voldemort would target Miss Weasley if he suspected how much you really cared about her. It is clear that he has other spy's in the castle as he knew about the potion just not the details of what it did," replied Snape.

"Yes, we are going to have to be more careful next year if we work together," replied Harry.

"After you were dismissed, another Death Eater arrived, we were not able to determine who it was because she didn't take off her mask. However we did find out that she will be at Hogwarts from September and has been told to keep a close watch on you, Professor. Voldemort believes you are lying or withholding information from him.

"She has also been told to deal with me," Harry said.

"We will have to be on our guard again next year. We have two female Professor's starting in September and a number of other students who were home schooled before. It seems that Voldemort wants to have as many of his people in positions of importance," Dumbledore stated.

"That makes sense, Professor. When Voldemort spoke to the woman, he did say that he had managed to get her in to Hogwarts. So it would appear that he is using his influence over certain people to get what he wants," explained Harry.

"Thank you, Harry. We will be sure to be on our guard next term," Dumbledore told them.

Xavier was still talking with Fawkes when they finished the meeting. Harry and Ginny decided to transform and return to Potter Castle without him and would find out later what was going on.

* * *

Harry had arranged for the horses to be delivered the night before Ginny's birthday. To avoid any problems, they were going to be delivered to a farm near the seller. It was owned by a wizard family who had agreed to allow Harry to use it. They could not risk anyone seeing the castle, so this was the only way they could get the horses there.

Harry arrived at the farm twenty minutes before the horses were due to arrive. They had arranged for a wizard vet to be present so that they could knock the horses out whilst they were transported by Xavier and Fawkes directly to the castle. Harry wasn't going to because Ginny would be able to detect that he was carrying a heavy load.

Harry had told Maxim what was happening so that he could make sure that several of the house-elves were ready to take care of the horses. They had been busy preparing the stables for the arrivals, and had all the necessary supplies to feed and groom them. He asked Maxim to ensure that none of them said anything about it until after Ginny's birthday as it was a complete surprise.

Finally, the horses arrived; the vet again checked them over to make sure nothing had happened whilst they were traveling. He declared them all healthy and the prepared them for the trip to Potter Castle. It took a while for the drugs to fully work; while they were waiting the vet advised Harry that they would wake up in about six hours.

Once everything was ready Harry thanked the vet before watching as Xavier and Fawkes took two of the horses to Potter Castle and several minutes later returned for the other two. Once they had been successfully transported Harry returned to the castle and checked on them before heading off to bed. He knew that Maxim and the other elves would take care of them so wasn't worried and didn't want to focus on them in case Ginny found out.

He walked into their room to find Ginny fast asleep on the bed; he snuggled in next to her and kissed her lovingly before falling into a deep relaxing sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

The next morning, Ginny woke up feeling very aroused, it was hard for her to focus on anything due to the sensations that were washing over her with intensity. It didn't take long for her to realize what has happening and she just relaxed and allowed it to continue.

' _Happy Birthday, beautiful,_ ' Harry said whilst continuing what he was doing.

' _Good morning, Harry,_ ' Ginny struggled to say in response even through the bond.

' _I wanted to give you a birthday present to match the one you gave me,_ ' Harry told her as he poured his love and passion into the bond. This increased the feelings for Ginny such that she soon collapsed from exhaustion having been well and truly satisfied.

' _Bloody hell, Harry,_ ' Ginny finally said as she recovered.

Harry continued to pour his love for her into the bond and she soon realized that it filled his heart with joy that he could do that for her. They both knew that they would never be able to go back to what they had before Harry's birthday, and both of them were perfectly comfortable with that. They still were not ready to consummate the marriage but could enjoy their time together and satisfy their own growing needs.

They relaxed on the bed for a while before heading into the bathroom for a nice long bath. At least the others had the decency to leave them alone so they didn't have to worry about anyone walking in on them, not that they would have a hope of getting past the locking charms that Harry had placed on the room.

They finally made their way down to the kitchen to find something for a mid-morning snack as they had missed breakfast by several hours. As with Harry's birthday, the morning session had been cancelled so they were in no hurry, and it seemed the other occupants of the castle had taken the opportunity to sleep in too as they had not seen anyone around yet.

Slowly as Harry and Ginny ate at the table in the Kitchen the others started to appear, Ginny could tell everyone was excited. She thought it was a little odd to be that excited but didn't linger on it. She had already had a better birthday present than she could have hoped for and was happy just being with Harry.

After breakfast Harry took Ginny's hand and headed out the back door and started walking towards the stables; he had placed Silencing Charms around them so Ginny would not hear anything until she actually walked in.

"Where are we going?" asked Ginny.

"I wanted to show you something," Harry told her honestly.

"Hmm, is this part of the secret you have been keeping from me?" she asked while trying to sense what he was thinking.

"Ah, you will have to wait and see," replied Harry before swatting her backside and running off.

"Oh, get back here, Potter," she called after him before breaking into a run.

"Slow coach," yelled Harry as he raced towards the stables.

All of a sudden Harry came to a stop and flew backwards into the arms of a laughing Ginny, causing them both to collapse to the ground.

"What the bloody hell," said Harry when he recovered from the shock. "That was amazing, Gin."

"I didn't quite expect that to happen," replied Ginny while giggling.

"I could sense what you were trying to do but also didn't expect it to work that well," replied Harry.

"So, Mr. Potter, I believe you were taking me somewhere before you fell gracefully into my arms," mocked Ginny while placing small kisses on his cheek and neck.

"I can't remember, someone seems to be distracting me," replied Harry as they snuggled together on the ground, Harry happily returning the kisses.

Several minutes later they finally got up and continued to walk in silence to the stables; Ginny's excitement was growing as they got closer. Harry told her to close her eyes when they were just outside the main stable entrance and he gently guided her inside.

Once she was in position, he made sure all of the horses were ready and then told her to open her eyes while he removed the Silencing Charm.

"Happy Birthday," Harry said while watching the look of complete shock on her face.

She just stood there speechless, almost pinching herself to believe that it could be true. She finally looked around and spotted her friends and family all standing around the stables watching her.

"Oh, Harry, thank you so much," she said as she pulled him into a passionate kiss.

"I am so glad you like them; when I saw how excited you were when we discovered the stables, I knew what I wanted to get you. You cannot believe how hard it has been to hide it from you," replied Harry when they finally broke for air.

"It's perfect, Harry."

Harry told her about each of the horses and explained why he had chosen them; she could tell that he had put a lot of effort into it. She listened carefully as he explained that they would be ready to breed next year if they wanted to, and that Maxim had arranged for some of the elves to help them care for them.

She walked up to each of the horses and petted them; they responded well to her. Ginny told Harry that she would pick names for each of them later and was looking forward to riding them.

Once they had finished meeting the horses, the others gathered round and started handing over more presents. Most of them related to the horses anyway so it made sense to open them outside. Arthur and Molly had brought her riding clothes. The twins and their girlfriends got together to get her a saddle. Neville and Luna got her several books on caring for horses and a large grooming kit. Remus and Tonks created a map of the forest that highlighted the trails that would be safe for horse riding. Professor Dumbledore got her several books on breeding horses and taking care of them as they grew. Sirius was the only one not to get her something for the horses, he instead got her a Firebolt to match Harry's.

"Thank you, guys," Ginny told them after opening her presents.

She spent the rest of the morning with Harry in the stables; Harry had brought himself a saddle and all the equipment too so that they could go riding together. Ginny decided that the medium sized mare would be the best for her to ride; she named it Sandy because of its colour.

"Great, at least we won't get them confused," Harry joked when she name the horse.

"I should hope not," responded Ginny playfully. "I may have to question your sanity if you cannot tell the difference between a horse and an elf."

"Ah, well your beauty blinds me so it is hard to see," replied Harry.

"Smooth, Potter," joked Ginny as she gently kissed him.

"I love you so much, Ginny," Harry told her again as he gently caressed her check.

"I love you too, Harry."

* * *

After lunch, Harry and Ginny returned to the stables and put the saddles on their horses. Ginny suggested that Harry ride the stallion which she had named Shadow because of his dark black coat.

Harry wasn't that comfortable riding Shadow, at first, but the nervousness soon disappeared once they set off. They slowly trotted towards one of the trails on the map getting used to the horses. As they approached the edge of the forest, Harry was completely comfortable with riding which he attributed to Ginny's knowledge from when she was younger. They followed the trail for almost an hour before coming to an opening that overlooked the lake.

"Wow, it's beautiful up here," Ginny said as they dismounted and looked out upon the lake and the valley behind it.

Harry just stopped there looking out; it still struck him sometimes just how amazing his life was now. Seeing his beautiful wife looking out at the scene before him was something he could never put into words. He took a moment to memorize it, adding it to the growing pile of happy memories that fueled his Patronus.

Ginny sensing what he was doing, slowly turned towards him and waited for him to finish. She wanted the moment to be perfect for him. Harry conjured a blanket for them and they sat on the ledge and just looked out not caring how long they had sat there.

Several hours later they realized that they would have to head back soon as they still had Ginny's birthday meal.

"Thank you for today," Ginny told him softly as they started to get up.

"Anything for you, baby," responded Harry before kissing her gently.

"I don't think I will forget this day for a long time," she replied honestly.

"I know I won't," Harry told her as he banished the blanket and mounted Shadow.

They trotted slowly back to the castle enjoying the time together as they talked about their plans for the rest of the summer. It was dinner time when they finally arrived back at the castle having taken the time to groom the horses when they returned to the stables.

* * *

They arrived back at the patio to find all the others watching Arthur and Sirius cooking again on the barbeque, they had become quite the team as they worked together and everyone was amazed at just how good the food was. Long gone were the cremated disasters which none of them missed; now everyone actually looked forward to the food.

They had become adventurous with the food also; there were many different meats cooking, corn, beans, and potatoes. Molly was in her element providing salad and of course desert or cake in this case.

"It's just as well we go running every morning," joked Harry as they walked in. The table was groaning under the weight of all the food that was on it and they had not even finished cooking.

"Well, mum, always complains that you are too skinny when you get to our house in the summer. She won't be able to this year," replied Fred as they started digging into the food.

"Hey, I am not complaining," replied Harry. "It is nice to be able to decide what I want to eat and when. Not having to do chores unless I want to, being able to spend time with my friends. I wouldn't trade this for anything," Harry told them.

"I am glad you are not at the Dursley's too," Molly told him. "You have grown into such a wonderful young man. It fills our hearts with joy to see how much you cherish Ginny and just how much she means to you. And we know for certain that she feels exactly the same way about you."

For the first time since the bonding, Harry truly felt accepted by the Weasley family. He knew they had accepted that neither of them had control over what happened but that didn't mean that really accepted it.

They continued to eat late into the evening; there was no rush to finish as they had already opened the presents earlier in the day. Molly brought out the horse shaped cake that she had created with Happy Birthday written on the side.

Just before Ginny blew out the candles, she made a wish, one that she didn't realize at the time would be answered beyond her imagination.

* * *

The New Marauders returned to their normal schedule for the next few days. Katie had the Quidditch team working so well that they were worried about what would happen when they got back to school and had include a new Chaser. Neville was doing so well as Keeper, that she had all but guaranteed him a spot on the team. Katie had to run try out's for all the position she just hoped that a good Chaser appeared that would work well with them.

With only two weeks left to the summer, they were all preparing to go to Diagon Alley; they knew their letters would arrive soon. They decided to forego the normal contingent of Order Members for their visit, opting instead to carry emergency Portkeys should there be any problems. Harry created Portkeys that would return them to the safety of Potter Castle. He also added several charms that would make them impossible to remove by force, just like his and Ginny's pendants. Harry and Ginny also presented Katie with a wrist holster for her wand and demonstrated it for her.

"That explains how you can always produce your wands so quickly," replied Katie after Harry explained how they worked.

"Yes, we realized earlier this year just how useful it would be. We added the charms to prevent anyone from taking the wands by force, and giving us a better advantage," Harry told her as she put it on.

"Now, you will need to practice for a while to get used to it. You will soon see how natural it becomes," continued Harry.

It didn't take Katie long to become proficient using the holster, much to the annoyance of George who had upset her several times and been hexed somewhere unpleasant, he soon learned not to say that again. They were last seen heading up to their rooms with George grovelling for forgiveness as Katie had told him that he wasn't welcome in her room, much to the amusement of the others.

* * *

Later that day, Harry and Ginny travelled to Hogwarts to meet with Professor Dumbledore again. They realized that it had been a while since the last public Order meeting and wanted to avoid any suspicion that the trace had been found.

"Good afternoon," Dumbledore said as they arrived.

"Good afternoon, Professor," Harry replied.

"Professor, we need to prepare the information we want to plant and determine what happens with it," explained Harry.

"What do you have in mind, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"I was thinking we should plant some information about the Prophecy. We know that Voldemort is planning to get it and we want to determine how desperate he is," replied Harry.

"Are you sure about this? We cannot risk Voldemort getting the Prophecy," replied Dumbledore looking concerned.

"Actually, Professor, I have a suggestion about that," Ginny added.

"I think we should record a fake Prophecy and replace the real one. That way we can let him think that all the effort has been worth it, but control what he finds out. It should start with what he already knows but then we can add whatever we like after that," continued Ginny.

"That is a very good idea," replied Dumbledore the twinkle quickly returning to his eye.

"Harry and I will work on that before the new term starts," Ginny offered.

"Thank you," replied Dumbledore.

"Once we have the prophecy we can flash into Department of Mysteries and replace it without anyone knowing. We will then have an Order meeting to discuss the arrangements for protecting it, making sure to note when we are not able to fully protect it," added Harry.

"What are we going to do for the next meeting? If we don't have one soon Fudge will start to get suspicious," Dumbledore asked.

"We are planning to go to Diagon Alley once our letters arrive. I suggest that you discuss this and highlight that due to the lack of activity by Voldemort over the summer, only minimal protection will be provided. We will monitor Voldemort to determine what information he gets.

"We are certain that he will want to attack us if he thinks that we are unprotected, and that the information came from the meeting. Once we have determined what his plan of action is, we will set an ambush to capture as many of the death eaters as possible. We will also need to make sure that Severus stays with Voldemort from the time of the meeting until after the attack so that Voldemort will know he didn't tell anyone. This most likely will cause Voldemort to suspect one of his other Death Eaters," Harry explained.

"Perfect, Harry, we will have a meeting tomorrow. I have your Hogwarts letters here and was going to send them with Fawkes later today, but as you are already here you can take them back," Dumbledore replied.

"Thank you, Sir. I think we will plan to go to Diagon Alley on Friday. That will mean we only have four days to monitor Voldemort and will give him less time to plan an attack," Harry said as he got up and took the letters.

Moments later Xavier flashed them both back to Potter Castle.

* * *

As soon as they returned to Potter Castle, Harry and Ginny sent messages to the others to meet them by the pool. It didn't take long for them to all arrive; as soon as they had Harry handed out the letters to each of them.

They quickly opened them and starting reading, suddenly Luna shrieked.

"What's wrong," asked Neville looking concerned at his girlfriend.

"Nothing, Neville," she replied while passing her letter to him.

"That's brilliant, love," Neville said as he pulled her into a kiss.

Ginny grabbed the letter and told the others that she had also been moved up a year because of her high scores in the exams. All the others congratulated Luna and were excited for her.

Fred and George were completely shocked by their letters, they knew that the extra training had really helped them, but were still only expecting to get a couple of OWLs as they had not made any effort to study for the exams.

Hermione took Fred's letter whilst he was standing there and read it out to the group.

 **Astronomy - O  
Care of Magical Creatures - EE  
Charms - O  
DADA - O  
Herbology - A  
History of Magic - D  
Potions - EE  
Transfiguration - O**

Everyone quickly congratulated him for his scores; he was still speechless. Hermione then grabbed George's letter and told them that he had exactly the same scores.

"Seven OWLs each is brilliant," Remus told them when she had finished.

"I can't believe we did so well," Fred finally responded.

"You shouldn't be so surprised; you are both very smart. The problem was you spent all your time designing pranks rather than focusing on your lessons," replied Ginny with a laugh.

They all turned to Katie to see how she had done; she told them her scores.

 **Ancient Runes - O  
Arithmancy - EE  
Astronomy - O  
Care of Magical Creatures - O  
Charms - O  
DADA - O  
Herbology - EE  
History of Magic - A  
Muggle Studies - EE  
Potions - EE  
Transfiguration - O**

Everyone congratulated her on doing so well. George pulled Katie into a very passionate kiss and then whisper to her that they would celebrate in private later. They decided to throw an impromptu party to celebrate the results, Maxim produce a range of drinks and snacks for them.

As they were celebrating, Molly and Arthur walked out to the patio. Ron had received his letter that morning so they concluded that all of them would also have theirs too.

Molly didn't waste any time, "Fred, George, give me the bad news now."

"Actually, Molly, I think you should sit down," said Sirius in a serious voice.

Molly suddenly looked very uneasy, surely it wasn't that bad. She reluctantly sat down bracing herself for the news.

"Well you see, mum..." Fred started.

"...it's like this. We really did..." George added.

"...try our hardest, but unfortunately..." continued Fred

"...we got a D..." said George sadly.

"YOU GOT ONE D IS THAT IT," screamed Molly.

Arthur happened to look up just as Molly screamed and noticed the rather fixed expressions on the faces of all those around him. He suddenly realized what was happening and just looked down so that he would not start laughing.

At this point, Bill and Fleur had also arrived at the castle to see how everyone had done. They, unfortunately, walked in just as Molly started to scream again.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU TWO, AFTER ALL WE HAVE DONE FOR YOU..." continued Molly.

"We are sorry, Mum..." Fred said quietly.

"...I guess you don't want to know about the..." added George.

"...OWLs that we did get," finished George.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY..." Molly started to scream then it hit her. "Give me the bloody letter."

"Language, Mum," each of the Weasley's children said with a laugh.

She quickly read the letter and instead of getting up and congratulating them pulled out her wand. The twins suddenly looked very scared and made a quick exit from the patio with Molly chasing after them.

A while later, Molly returned with the twins who looked very happy, it appeared that once Molly caught up with them she laughed and then hugged them. She never intended to hex them but wanted to see their reaction. After all they had to get their pranking abilities from someone, and it was definitely not Arthur.

The rest of the afternoon was spent celebrating and preparing for the new term; they planned out the trip to Diagon Alley, rather than have everyone go to the same shops they were going to split up and go. This would allow them to complete the necessary shopping quickly and send the items back to Potter Castle. They would then spend the rest of the day relaxing.

Molly was not happy with the plan but agreed to let them continue as anyway once she had assurances from each of them that they would return to Potter Castle if they were in trouble.

* * *

Later that evening the members of the Order of the Phoenix gathered at Hogwarts to discuss the trip to Diagon Alley. None of those from Potter Castle attended as they already knew the details and wanted to continue celebrating.

Before they started, Kingsley and Arthur made sure that there badges were activated so the meeting could be recorded.

"Good evening," Professor Dumbledore said once everyone had gathered.

"We are here to discuss the arrangements for Harry's trip to Diagon Alley on Friday. I have spoken to Harry today and he insists that he be allowed to go, as there has been very minimal activity from Voldemort so far this summer. I have discussed this with Sirius, Remus and the Weasley's and they all agreed that between them there should be no need for additional coverage.

"At first, I was reluctant to agree to this, however after due consideration, I believe that the danger is minimal at the moment, and our time would be better spent searching for Voldemort," Dumbledore explained.

They continued the fake meeting for close to an hour, going over old information that would not make any difference. Dumbledore quickly thanked them all for there continued commitment to the cause and closed the meeting.

They all waited for a few minutes to allow Arthur and Kingsley to deactivate the badges before they discussed the real plan for Friday.

"Okay, we strongly suspect that Voldemort will attempt an attack on Friday. We should have a better idea soon what he is planning to do. Until then, we need to be prepared. Each member of Harry's group will have an emergency Portkey which will take them to safety should anything happen. However, I strongly suspect that they will stay to fight, if that happens; please be sure to work with them. Kingsley and I have seen them training this summer and we both agree that they can easily take care of themselves. Therefore, our role will be to assist them should the need arise. Don't reveal your location unless it is absolutely necessary as we will have the element of surprise," Dumbledore told them.

They continued to discuss the plan late into the evening, making sure that everyone was aware of where they should be during the day.

As they were about to leave, Xavier flashed into the room with a message.

 _Professor,_

 _Half an hour ago Ginny and I felt called to enter Voldemort's mind. The information had already been delivered to him. He called a Death Eater meeting immediately and told them to prepare to attack on Friday._

 _Unfortunately, we didn't see who delivered the message but were able to determine that they plan to use Dementors and at least ten Death Eaters during the attack. They have not set a time for the attack so I suspect they will leave that until the last moment._

 _We did learn this evening that when Voldemort summons the Death Eaters, we will feel pulled to his mind; we have not determined why it is happening._

 _Harry Potter_

After Dumbledore relayed the information, they finalized the plan for Friday and most returned to their business.

"Severus, Harry suggested that you should return to Voldemort and remain until after Friday," Dumbledore told him as walked down towards the dungeons.

"I agreed, Albus," replied Snape deep in thought.

"I am worried that he will want me involved in the attack," Snape added a moment later.

"If you can avoid it, then I suggest you do. If not, keep out of the way when things get messy which I am sure they will," Dumbledore told him. "I have to warn you, Severus, not to underestimate Harry or Ginny; they are both already stronger than I am, and still growing. I can guarantee that you don't want to be on the wrong end of a curse from either of them."

"I will keep that in mind," replied Snape as they arrived at his quarters.

"I will, hopefully, see you on Saturday," Dumbledore said as he continued on towards his office.

Severus Snape gathered a few items he would need and headed out of the castle to meet with Voldemort.

 _A/N: Before anyone asks I am not going to tell you what Harry and Ginny did on their respective birthday's I will leave that completely to your imagination._

 _And no Ginny's birthday wish was not a repeat of what had happened that morning, it was something far more powerful and NO I am not going to reveal it._

 _Harry and Ginny have not quite reached their full power, but they are very close. They will need to be strong for what faces them in the future, which is why I have them so strong._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

The next morning everyone was eating breakfast when Katie suddenly turned to Harry and said "Harry, I have selected a Marauder name."

"What name have you selected?" Remus and Sirius asked at the same time before Harry could even respond to Katie's statement.

She had spent a lot of time considering a name and in the end chose something that described how she felt. She just hoped that none of them really understand what the name meant.

"I have chosen ' _Solelorn_ '," Katie replied quietly the confidence from moments ago forgotten.

Harry was about to respond when suddenly Hermione gasped and looked sadly at Katie.

"What's wrong?" asked George while the others all watching with interest.

Hermione suddenly regretting her response, she could have just made the whole situation harder for Katie. Katie could see the regret in her eyes; Hermione noticed her watching and quickly mouthed an apology to her.

"It's okay, I should have told you all a long time ago, I was just so upset with it all," Katie told them.

She turned to George who looked hurt that she had not told him either.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she saw the hurt in his eyes. He could tell that she was and instantly forgave her as whatever she had to tell them was obviously difficult for her. George got up from his seat and walked up to her and gently took her hands and kissed her softly.

"It doesn't matter," George told her as he stood behind her and gently massaged her shoulders.

Katie proceeded to tell them how her parents had basically abandoned her before the end of term after news of Voldemort's return was published. She had arrived home to find the house empty and her parent's belongs gone. They had not even left a note for her which hurt the most.

They spent the next couple of hours comforting Katie as she let all the bottled up emotions out. George stayed strong for her the whole time and promised that she would have family with the Weasley's. Harry told her she was welcome to live at Potter Castle for as long as she needed and would always be welcome.

Deciding to forego the normal initiation, which didn't seem appropriate at the moment, Harry proceeded to shared with her all the information that all the others had been given.

A while later when she had processed all the new information she was amazed at what she now knew. She thought that she a capable witch before but now understood just how much more advanced the others were.

"Thank you, Harry," Katie said before giving him a hug.

"You have more than earned the right to learn that, Katie. I know the situation is slightly different but I do understand what you are going through and if you ever need anything let me know ok?"

"I will, I couldn't have done it without all of your support. I just wish I had told you all sooner," she replied wistfully.

"Well, at least we know now," Harry told her before leaving the room with Ginny to spend some time together.

George led Katie upstairs to their room and comforted her, she was sad by what her parents had done but was amazed by just how supportive her friends and new mentor's were. Katie and George spent the rest of the day in the room just talking. Harry asked Maxim to make sure that one of the elves served them anything they needed.

* * *

Harry and Ginny were glad that they had so many friends around at the moment as it allowed them to now worry about Katie. They had bigger issues to worry about as the trial of Vernon Dursley was this morning. They had completely put it out of their minds as they were so focused on training.

Thankfully Bill had reminded them the previous morning and advised them that everything had been taken care of. He had arranged to meet them at the castle so he could escort them.

Ginny could tell that Harry was not looking forward to facing him again but knew that he would have to so she sent soothing thoughts through the bond to help him.

"Thanks," Harry told her as they walked hand in hand down to the main entrance to meet Bill.

"You don't need to thank me, Harry," replied Ginny as she squeezed his hand.

"But I like thanking you," replied Harry happily.

"Well in that case you can thank me properly later," replied Ginny before sending him a mental image that cause some discomfort in his tight jeans.

"Witch," replied Harry as he tried to adjust himself, causing Ginny to giggle before sending him more images.

"How am I supposed to function today with you doing that," exclaimed Harry while blushing heavily.

"At least you aren't worried about the trial now," replied Ginny before rushing off to the entrance hall before Harry could get his revenge.

"Please promise you won't do that during the trail," Harry begged when he finally caught up with her.

"Only if you promise to thank me later," replied Ginny with a smirk.

"Was there any doubt about that?" asked Harry with a flirty smile.

"I don't want to know!" Bill said as he heard the end of the conversation.

"At least we are married, Bill," replied Ginny with a hint of mischief in her voice. "Of course you could be thanked properly if you would just pop the question to Fleur."

It was obvious from the instant blush from Bill that she had hit the nail on the head.

Harry and Ginny collapsed with laughter as Bill stood there like a fish out of water unable to come up with any response.

A few minutes later Bill explained that they had a Portkey that would take them to a private conference room that had been set aside for the prosecution team. They expected quite a crowd as word has spread about what had happened.

They arrived in the conference room an hour before the trail was due to begin to go over the process.

Shortly after they arrived an older man walking into the conference room and introduced himself. "Good morning, Mr. Potter. I am Mr. Robert Smythe and will be presenting the case today."

"Good morning, Mr. Smythe," replied Harry as he shook his hand. "This is Ginny Weasley, my girlfriend and sister of Bill."

"Good morning, Miss Weasley, Bill," Robert said as he also shock there hands.

They spent the next hour going over the case, Robert explained what would most likely happen, and he did warn them that it could take several days to present everything depending on what the defense says.

* * *

Harry could hear Hermione telling several of their friends what would happen and that they were not allowed to say anything during the proceedings. He wasn't sure how they were going to get through this trial without an incident happening as there were a number of witches and wizards around. He was amazed they even made it into the court room based on how badly they had dressed.

As Harry looked around the courtroom he spotted several members of the Order, clearly sent by Dumbledore to make sure there was no trouble.

A few minutes after Harry arrived in the courtroom Vernon was brought in. You could hear a pin drop in the room as he made his way to his seat surrounded by two very large court officers. If looks could kill then Vernon would not have made it an inch into the court due to the number of eyes focused on him.

"All rise," the court clerk told them.

The Judge walked into the courtroom and quickly took her seat.

"The honorable Judge Grace Phillips presiding. Please be seated, this court is now in session."

Everyone quickly sat back down, Vernon was already complaining that the seat was uncomfortable. Harry doubted there were any chairs big enough to make him comfortable and suspected that most of the people there thought the same thing.

"Mr. Greene, is there a problem?" the Judge asked Vernon's solicitor.

"No your honor, we are sorry for the delay," Mr. Greene replied politely while telling Vernon if he didn't stop fussing then he would most likely be removed.

"Very well, Mr. Harris, would you please read the charges," the Judge asked.

Mr. Harris the court clerk stood and pulled out a sheet of paper containing the charges.

"Mr. Vernon Dursley, you are charged with five counts of sexual harassment, two counts of resisting arrest, one count of assaulting a Police Officer, one count of possessing an illegal firearm, one count of embezzlement and one count of child abuse."

"Mr. Dursley, how do you plead?" asked the Judge.

"Not guilty," replied Vernon in a strong clear voice.

"Mr. Smythe, please proceed with your opening arguments," the Judge ordered.

"Thank you, your honor," Mr. Smythe said as he stood up.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, you have heard the charges against Mr. Dursley. We will present the evidence to back up these charges. I have to warn you now that some of the testimony that you will hear is very disturbing.

"Mr. Dursley has shown a complete disregard for his nephew Harry James Potter he was orphaned at the age of one when his parents were murdered; being the only living relatives Harry was placed with them. As you will hear during this case Mr. Dursley's treatment of Harry from that day until he was arrested has been horrendous.

"In addition he abused his position at Grunnings to sexually harass five different people and also steal from the company. It seems that Mr. Dursley knew that his nephew was a major shareholder in the company and felt that it was his right to have the money," Mr. Smythe finished.

Mr. Greene then approached the jury, "You have heard the charges against Mr. Dursley, however what you have not heard is the abnormal behavior that Mr. Potter displayed whilst living at the Dursley's house. During this trial we will demonstrate that Mr. Potter was the cause of all of these issues and that Mr. Dursley is innocent of all charges."

Harry was not surprised by any of this; he could tell that no one else believed a word of what Mr. Greene had just said.

"Mr. Smythe you may call your first witness," the Judge told him after Mr. Greene had finished.

"The prosecution calls Mrs. Harriet Folding," Mr. Symthe announced.

A court officer escorted Mrs. Folding into the court and guided her to the witness box. Once she was sworn in and her identity confirmed Mr. Smythe proceeded with his questions.

"Mrs. Folding, please can you describe what happened during your employment at Grunnings?" Mr. Smythe asked her.

She proceeded to tell the court how Vernon had sexually harassed her, how he had threatened to have her fired if she told anyone. She explained that as she was having some financial difficulties at the time she couldn't afford to be fired so didn't say anything. By the time she had finished telling them everything that had happened to her most of the people in the room looked even more annoyed than they had at the start.

"Thank you, Mrs. Folding," Mr. Smythe said as he turned to Mr. Greene and said "your witness."

Mr. Greene approached the witness box, "Mrs. Folding, you have accused Mr. Dursley of raping you at the office, yet you have not produced any evidence of this. Why don't you tell the court what really happened? How you seduced Mr. Dursley because you thought that it would help your career and help you get the pay raise you desperately needed."

"How dare you, I have told the truth, Mr. Greene," replied Harriet looking absolutely furious at this suggestion.

"As you have no evidence then it is just your word against Mr. Dursley," Mr. Greene said smugly thinking he had won that round.

Before he could proceed further however Mr. Smythe stood and addressed the Judge. "Objection, Your honor, there is evidence to back up our claims. The defense is well aware of this fact and deliberately ordered tests at the last minute to cause further delays."

"Actually, Mr. Smythe I am pleased to say that the results came back first thing this morning," announced the Judge as she asked the court clerk to hand off the envelopes to each team.

Each time reviewed the evidence before the Judge announced "Mr. Greene do you have any further questions for this witnessed based on the new evidence?"

He quietly replied that he didn't knowing full well that they had all but lost the case now. The only hope they had was to show Harry as a freak.

The rest of the morning passed very quickly Mr. Smythe proceeded to bring in witness after witness who had suffered at the hands Vernon. By the time lunch arrived Mr. Greene had already given up asking questions as they always had a very good answer that would end up hurting his defense more.

After lunch they returned to the court and proceeded to interview the Police Officer's who had been present during the arrest including the office who had been hurt when he escaped.

By the end of the first day the evidence against Vernon was already very detailed and damming. Mr. Greene had attempted to discrete several of the witnesses but in the end it just made him look incompetent.

At the end of the day the Judge advised the jury that they were not to discuss the case outside of the court room and adjourned the case until nine o'clock the next morning.

Harry and Ginny made there way back to Potter Castle, to relax and enjoy a quiet evening together. Ginny was happy to remind Harry of his promise when they got back.

They spent a couple of hours eating dinner with the others, while discussing the case and all the evidence against Vernon, before they disappeared to their suite for the evening.

* * *

The next morning found them all back in the courtroom. It seemed that more people had found out about the trial as the court room was completely packed with people.

Once Judge Phillips had entered the court Mr. Smythe called his next witness. "The prosecution called, Mrs. Petunia Dursley."

The look of shock on Vernon's face was not missed. It seemed that he had not been made aware that she was testifying against him. Once she had been sworn in Mr. Smythe approached the witness box.

"Mrs. Dursley, please can you tell the court why you are here today?"

"To tell the court the truth of what happened to Harry Potter when he lived with us," Petunia replied.

"Mrs. Dursley have you been forced in any way to do this?" Mr. Smythe asked.

"No, I am here of my own free will," replied Petunia.

"Thank you, Mrs. Dursley. Please could you proceed to tell the court your story," he asked kindly.

Petunia spent the next two hours telling them everything that had happened while Harry was living with them. She didn't hold back any information and made it clear that they were all involved in one way or another in the treatment. It soon became clear that Vernon was the one who would meat out the worse of the punishment whenever Harry did something unusual.

By the time Petunia had finished talking everyone in the court was deadly silent. Most of them looking angrily at Vernon, a few were looking directly at her in the same way. She didn't care any longer she knew that she had hurt Harry by her actions.

Mr. Greene approached the box again.

"Mrs. Dursley, you have told quite a story today. You said before that you were here of your own free will, please could you tell the court why you decided now to testify when you could have stopped this alleged treatment at any time?"

"I have always been faithful to my husband and supported him, however when I found out about the charges against him and having investigated myself I determined that he has not been faithful to me," replied Petunia.

"So you are saying you are doing this to get even with him for cheating on you?" asked Mr. Greene seizing on the opportunity.

"Do you honest think I would have implicated myself if I was trying to get even?" asked Petunia in return. This brought a number of coughs as people tried to hide their sniggers. Harry noticed even the Judge smiled for a brief second.

Mr. Greene was speechless, and desperately tried to turn this around as the evidence was very damaging.

"Mr. Greene, Dudley and I turned ourselves into the police because we realized that Harry didn't deserve the treatment he received. We didn't do this for ourselves," she continued. Mr. Greene asked the Judge to ask her to stop but she refused saying that he had asked the question.

Mr. Greene quickly returned to his seat with his tail between his legs stating that he had no further questions.

Mr. Smythe then called Dudley Dursley to testify. He basically told the same story that Petunia had said adding in the times that he had attacked Harry at school or beat up anyone who tried to be friends with him. By the end of the testimony Harry could see tears in a number of people's eyes as the full impact of Harry's childhood hit home.

Mr. Greene didn't even bother to question Dudley, he had already resigned himself to the fact that they had lost the case no matter what he said. There was just too much evidence, he had known this all along but the law required him to represent Vernon.

After lunch on the second day Mr. Smythe called several more witnesses who testified against Vernon and his various activities.

Mr. Roberts told them how he and Vernon had been stealing from the company, he told them that Vernon had come up with the plan and he only went along when he blackmailed him. When Mr. Greene challenged him about his testimony he told them that he had not been offered any deal and was willing to accept any punishment for his crimes.

By the end of the second day the prosecution's case was wrapped up. The Judge told them that they would return in the morning for Mr. Greene to present his case and would then allow the jury to decide.

Harry has thankful that no one comments on what Petunia and Dudley had said during the trial. He knew that Ginny had told them not to, at least they had respected that request. They spent the evening alone in there room relaxing and preparing for the next day.

* * *

The next morning Mr. Greene started presenting his case, he called his first witness.

"The defense called Mr. Harry Potter as a hostile witness," Mr. Greene said smugly.

Harry was not actually surprised at this, he already had a general idea of what they were going to try and do.

Harry calm stood and entered the witness box, the clerk quickly swore him in.

"Mr. Potter, we have heard from your Aunt and Cousin how you were treated whilst growing up. However at no point during any of the testimony was anything mentioned about your abnormality.

"Mr. Potter, please can you tell the court if you are a wizard or not?" asked Mr. Greene.

Before Harry could even respond the Judge herself halted the proceedings.

"Mr. Greene, are you trying to make mockery of this court?" she asked in anger.

"No, your honor, we are just trying to prove that Mr. Potter was the cause of these issues," replied Mr. Greene.

"Mr. Greene, do you have any way of proving that there is such a thing as a wizard?" the Judge asked.

He looked nervous for a second before responding, "No, your honor."

"In that case unless you have any other questions I will dismiss the witness," the Judge told him.

"We do, your honor," Mr. Greene said before turning back to Harry.

"Mr. Potter, please can you tell us what happened at the Zoo before your eleventh birthday?"

Harry described the day and how he to go because his normal babysitter was ill. How he had been watching the snake move around, when Dudley came over and pushed him out of the way. When he picked himself up afterwards he noticed that Dudley had broken into the room and let the snake escape.

At this Vernon jumped out of his seat and shouted that he caused the glass to disappear and trap his son using his freaky magic. The Judge warned Mr. Greene that if he didn't control his client then he would be returned to his cell.

"Mr. Greene, this is your last warning. Unless you have any valid questions for Mr. Potter then I will dismiss him," the Judge told him.

"We don't, your honor," replied Mr. Greene looking resigned to his fate.

"Mr. Potter, I am sorry that you had to deal with that, you may return to your seat," the Judge told him.

"Mr. Greene do you have any other witnesses?" the Judge asked him.

"Yes, your honor. The defense calls Ms. Marge Dursley," replied Mr. Greene.

Marge walked into the courtroom and after being sworn in took her seat. Mr. Greene proceeded to ask her a number of questions about Harry and each time she just told him that he got what he deserved. They all knew at this point the Mr. Greene was desperate as Marge was actually hurting his case more than she was helping it.

Mr. Smythe questioned her afterwards and got her to admit that she would have dumped at an orphanage the first change she had if she had been in Vernon's place. Finally Mr. Greene just told the Judge that he didn't have anything else to add.

During the closing arguments Mr. Smythe once again highlighted what all the witnesses had said and closed finished off by asking the jury to make sure justice was served.

Mr. Greene again attempted to say that Harry was a wizard that had special powers which he was using to force everyone to testify against Vernon and that he had been a loyal worker and loving caring husband, father and uncle.

Finally the Judge closed by telling the jury their duty and asking that they only return when they had a unanimous verdict. If they had any questions they would return to answer them. Once she had concluded she dismissed the jury and told everyone else that they would return when a verdict had been reached.

* * *

The jury arrived in the jury room to deliberate the foreman stood at the end of the table as the others sat down.

"Well I don't know about you but I don't see anything to debate. Does anyone have anything to ask or shall we just take a vote?"

When no one said anything he took out the list of charges and asked for a vote on each. Ten minutes later they had voted on every charge and found him guilty. As lunch had just been served while they were voting they decided to eat before sending a message to the Judge to say they had reached a verdict.

An hour later everyone returned to the courtroom to hear the verdict.

"Mr. Foreman, have you reached a verdict on which you all agree?" the Judge asked him.

"We have, your honor," he replied.

The foreman handed the verdict sheet to the court clerk who presented it to the Judge. After she had finished reading she handed it back and then addressed Mr. Dursley.

"Mr. Dursley, please stand while the verdict is read," she told him.

"Mr. Foreman, on the first count of sexual harassment, how do you find?"

"Guilty."

"On the second count, how do you find?"

"Guilty."

After another ten guilt verdicts were returned the Judge thanked the jury for their work and dismissed them.

"The court will recess for one hour to consider the sentence. Mr. Potter, please will you join me in my chambers."

Harry and Mr. Smythe followed the Judge into her chambers.

"Thank you for joining me. I need to discuss with you what you would like to do about your Aunt and Cousin, based on there own testimony they should be punished but it has to be up to you?"

"Your honor, we have discussed this at length. I am not going to press charges against them but I am going to required them to commit to community service to help out others who are less fortunate then they are," Harry told her.

"Very well, Mr. Potter, I am very impressed with your maturity in this matter," she told him honestly.

"Thank you, I just hope that people learn from this. There were a number of people who knew something wasn't right at the Dursley's house but never did anything in all those years," he replied sadly.

"I hope so too, Mr. Potter."

She dismissed Harry and Mr. Smythe so she could consider everything. There was no doubt in her mind that Mr. Dursley should never get out so she wanted to pass the sentence in such a way that it would be almost impossible unless he lived for a very long time.

An hour later they were all back in the court room.

"Mr. Dursley, you have been found guilty of all charges, based on the evidence we have heard and the descriptions of your treatment of Mr. Potter I am sentencing you to the maximum term for each charge to run sequentially. Therefore Mr. Dursley you are sentenced to serve one hundred thirty years with the possibility of parole in seventy years," the judge told him before asking the prison officers to take him away.

A loud cheer was heard around the court room as he was led away. Before anyone could leave the Judge announced that she wanted to meet with Mrs. Dursley and her son. They immediately followed her looking very nervous as they knew there testimony could land them in trouble if Harry chose.

"You have been given a very large gift. I spoke with Mr. Potter before sentencing to determine what he wanted to do about your testimony. Based on the evidence you should both be charged with a number of crimes, however Mr. Potter has told me that he will not press charges if you both agree to do community service helping others. If you agree to this then we will enter it on your file so that you will not be prosecuted in the future," she told them.

They both quickly agreed to do whatever was required. She sentenced them to serve a minimum of 1000 hours and told them that they would both be on probation for twenty years. If there is even a rumor of them hurting anyone like they had Harry then they would be charged and punished to the full extent of the law.

The Judge showed them out of her chambers where they found Harry and Ginny waiting for them.

"Harry," Petunia said. "We wanted to thank you for what you have done for us. I know we don't deserve it after everything we did."

"It was your own decision to testify against Vernon that allowed you to go free," Harry told them bitterly. "A large part of me wanted to punish you just as you did to me all those years, if it wasn't for my new family and the love they have shown me I may well have pressed charges."

Petunia wasn't surprised by his reaction; it would take more than one meeting to fix all the issues.

"We are sorry that it took so long to come to the right decision, I should have stopped it but never did. I have no excuse for that, I was scared of what would happen if I turned against Vernon but that still didn't justify my in-action.

"I just don't know what will happen now, they took away the car and most of our possessions as they were brought with stolen money. Dudley won't be able to return to Smeltings next year either not that it was really helping him," Petunia told him.

Harry already knew what he was going to do, he was surprised but at the end of the day they were still family and he couldn't see them just put out on the street like they wanted to do to him. He would be no better than they were if he did.

She again apologized before leaving. Dudley had been quiet the whole time, Harry could tell that he was upset at what had happened but wasn't sure if it was because of the sentence or because it finally hit home just how bad life had been for Harry.

* * *

Everyone at Potter Castle had a small celebration that evening; it wasn't anything major as they knew Harry wanted to forget about it all as quickly as possible.

Harry thanked them all for behaving during the trial even though he knew most of them wanted to badly hex Vernon when they heard the full description of what they had done to Harry when he lived there.

After the celebration Harry had a quiet word with Bill Weasley asking him to look into the mortgage on the Dursley's house and secretly pay it off so they would at least have somewhere to live.

Bill tried to talk Harry out of it before Ginny told him that Harry didn't want anyone to think that he was deliberately making them suffer because of what they had done.

Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the evening celebrating in private. The case had been very hard on Harry but he was forever grateful that he had Ginny with him every step of the way.

 _A/N: I have based most of this on my own experiences as a juror when I lived in England; however I am sure that some of it is taken from the TV shows I have seen._


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Friday finally arrived, due to the trial they had not had any training sessions that week however they still got up early for their morning exercises. They were all sitting around the table eating breakfast when Harry handed out the emergency Portkeys and told them the activation keyword.

"If you are injured at all today I want you to use the Portkeys," Harry told them.

"And I don't want any of you to be concerned if anyone travels with you when you activate the key. The castle wards will automatically transport them to the dungeons and we can deal with them then. Now remember to stay together we know our strengths and weaknesses, we also have the advantage because we know they will attack at some point during the day.

"Unfortunately there may be others injured during the battle. I have two Portkeys for each of you that will transport people to St. Mungos, if we can avoid it we should let them be treated, but if they are in danger it is better to transport them and let St. Mungos take care of it.

"Lastly don't forget to have fun," Harry told them as he finished passing out the extra Portkeys.

Sirius and Remus told them that they would all Floo to the Leaky Cauldron and would then enter Diagon Alley. Each couple would have one adult following them but at a distance to give them some privacy.

The twelve of them arrived in Diagon Alley and soon spread out to the various shops so they could complete the necessary school shopping. They didn't waste any time in the shops having made detailed lists before they left. Once they had the items they used Xavier to transport the items back to Potter Castle so they didn't have to carry them around.

The teens enjoyed their time going around the various shops; the fact that they were together as couples and had the freedom to do what they wanted was a bonus. They knew their escorts were close by but none of them interfered.

They didn't need anything from the Apothecary as they had a better supply at Potter Castle than the store carried. Hermione of course insisted visiting Flourish and Blotts to see what new books they had, Harry told her to get at least two copies of anything so they could add one copy to the library.

The twins with the help of Sirius and Remus were spending time at Zonko's, they had been working together over the summer on some plans to start a shop, in the end they decided that it would be better to buy Zonko's if he was willing to sell. Sirius offered to front the money and they would each hold twenty percent of the shares, ten percent was being secretly given to Arthur and Molly. The last ten percent going to Harry for everything he had done for them.

The negotiations went much easier than anyone expected, it seemed that Mr. Zonko was ready to leave anyway due to the fact that he believed Voldemort was back and didn't want to be involved in another war. He was extremely pleased to see who was interesting in buying the shop as he knew of their reputation and knew that it would be in good hands. They would continue the traditions he had started and would more than like create a lot of new items that he couldn't even imagine.

Once they agreed on a price Sirius made the necessary arrangements and they took control of the chain of stores. Mr. Zonko left his store much richer than he had been before and disappeared to enjoy his retirement.

The twins were ecstatic that they had succeeded in their dreams and thanked Sirius for all his help. They knew the shops would be in good hands when they returned to school in September. They had to decide on a name for the store and they then put together a re-launch plan with as many new items as they could.

* * *

Harry and Ginny were walking down towards Gringott's when they were approached by Cho Chang.

"Good morning, Harry," Cho said as she adjusted her top giving Harry a clear view of her breasts.

Ginny immediately felt angry as it was clear she was flirting with Harry.

"Morning," Harry replied as he looked straight past her, not even noticing what she was doing.

"I was hoping to see you today," continued Cho again trying to emphasis her breasts.

' _What a slut!_ ' exclaimed Ginny via the bond, while reaching for her wand.

' _Calm down, Ginny,_ ' replied Harry as he showed her that he was not the least bit interested in Cho and that he was not even effected by her obvious display.

Ginny was still angry but calmed down before making a scene. However Cho was not finished yet and continued to flaunt herself.

"Sorry we need to get going," replied Harry. "It was good seeing you and I am sure we will see you at school."

"I am sure we will," replied Cho is a seductive voice. As Cho walked past Harry, she deliberate brush up against him rubbing her breasts on his arm. Harry didn't have a chance to respond as a Bat Bogey hex wandlessly hit Cho.

' _Thank you,_ ' Harry told Ginny before kissing her very passionately in front of an obviously furious Cho.

They didn't bother removing the hex from Cho and left her fighting off the bats. Unfortunately for Cho she would have to deal with them for the next ten hours as no one could remove the hex.

* * *

The rest of the morning passed quietly, although news of what had happened to Cho did spread around Diagon Alley. When those from Potter Castle heard what Cho had done they immediately knew that it was Ginny who had hexed her.

They all enjoyed their time and occasionally ran into school friends, they would spend some time talking with them and catching up. They also made sure to warn them of the suspected attack and urged them to get everything done quickly.

Most of the others heeded the warning and made sure to finish up quickly; some of their friends wanted to stay and help but were quickly discouraged from doing that.

At lunch time they all met at a restaurant that had a patio so they could continue to enjoy the warm weather in London. It wasn't as warm as it had been at Potter Castle but they still enjoyed the time in the sun.

They quickly settled down and after ordering there food relaxed and talked about their mornings, they all congratulated Ginny on her response to Cho. Of course she denied doing anything which caused a round of laughter.

* * *

As the twins were telling everyone about the shop Harry and Ginny started to feel the coldness of Dementors approaching, because of their Phoenix abilities they were able to detect them much sooner than anyone else. It also meant that they would not be as badly affected by them; it was one of the many things they were grateful for.

"Dementors are approached," Harry quickly told them interrupting Fred.

"Are you sure?" asked Sirius looking around for them.

"Yes, they are still a little way off but are getting closer. The attack will be soon; let's pay for our food and move closer to Gringotts there is more open space there and it should reduce the number of injuries to others," Harry told them as he got up and paid for the food.

The twelve of them quickly exited from the restaurant and headed towards Gringotts. They again split into the same groups as before and started to head towards different corners of the square pretending to be looking in the shop windows.

Harry and Ginny used their Phoenix abilities to keep a close watch on the Dementors as they approached. They had yet to see the Death Eaters but knew they would not be far behind. One of the weaknesses of their attacks was the fact that they relied on the Dementors to affect everyone therefore allowing them to come in unnoticed.

Harry activated the communication channel, on the Portkeys, that allowed them to talk with each other without being overheard. Another wonderful invention of Hermione based on muggle technology.

"There are at least a hundred Dementors approaching from the east," Harry explained. "We have not detected the Death Eaters yet but they won't be far behind."

Each of them acknowledged the information and prepared for the battle that was quickly approaching. They had trained all summer for this and were now going to put the training to practice use.

"Remember our training, if you are hurt then get back to the castle. It is better to retreat and fight another day than die needlessly," Harry told them as the first wave of Dementors swooped down into the courtyard.

Harry and Ginny immediately released their individual Fire Patronuses towards the group and watched as they quickly destroyed them.

As they looked around they spotted six more Fire Patronuses appear and start attacking the various groups of Dementors that had spread out towards different groups of people. They could see that several groups were trapped and clearly didn't know how to defend themselves against the Dementors. Thankfully the others had spotted them two and were sending their Patronus to aid them.

As Harry continued to survey the area he spotted a couple of families, with young children, who were trapped and unable to produce a strong enough Patronus to hold off the group of Dementors attacking them. Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and together they launched their Phoenix Patronus towards the Dementors, they were both amazed when the Patronus appeared as it was almost twice as big as last time they had cast it and completely obliterated the Dementors.

They had successfully destroyed at least a third of the Dementors when a series of pop's announced the arrival of masked Death Eaters. As soon as they arrived they started throwing Killing Curses in every direction not caring who they hit. Several people were killed instantly as they could not get away in time. Harry and Ginny had produced their Merlin shield to protect themselves when the curses started flying; they thought about using the reflective mode but didn't want to risk anyone else being hit by the rebounded curses.

Around them the other members of The New Marauders and their escorts took cover and started launching curses at the Death Eaters. Several were taken out very quickly as they were not expecting any resistance. None of them were taking chances and were launching strong curses at the Death Eaters.

"They knew about the attack," one of them shouted as they took cover. They quickly realized that they were completely surrounded and there was much around they could hide behind. Not that Voldemort would be happy with his Death Eaters hiding in a battle, which they all knew would result in their punishment later.

"We have been betrayed," another shouted.

While they were arguing they felt the telltale sign of anti-Apparition and anti-Portkey wards go up around them.

"It's a trap, we will have to fight our way out," shouted the lead Death Eaters.

Once the wards were in place Harry and Ginny again surveyed the square and noticed that several groups of families were still in danger. Harry and Ginny redirected their Phoenix Patronus towards the largest group to take care of the Dementors while keeping a careful eye on the Death Eaters who were now alternating between Shield Charms and hexes to better protect themselves. They had also started conjuring objects that they could hide behind as the battle was not going their way.

"Potter's over there," shouted one of the Death Eaters, he had been searching since they arrived for Harry.

Immediately six of the Death Eaters directed all there curses towards Harry. They were rather shocked when every one of the curses was absorbed by a shield even the Unforgivables.

"How is that possible," one of them shouted.

"Someone must be helping them," another shouted.

"No one can stop the Unforgivables. Who could possibly be powerful enough to cast such a shield," yet another said. It was quickly becoming clear to them that not only had they been trapped but that escaping was going to be very difficult. They also knew that if they didn't return with Potter then they might as well not return as the punishment would be terrible. Voldemort had made it very clear to them that failure was not an option.

The Death Eaters continued to fire curses in every direction but were not very effective as they had to spend half their time producing shields. Eventually the lead Death Eater spotted a possible escape route and told several of his colleagues to started targeting the three people in that location.

Hermione, Fred and Arthur were able to hold there own against the attack by the four Death Eaters for ten minutes before Fred got hit by a stray curse which knocked him out. Arthur quickly erected a shield around them while Hermione checked Fred.

A few minutes later after a constant barrage of curses towards Arthur's shield it collapsed and he was also taken out by a Stunner. Hermione, realizing that they would all be in danger if anything happened to her, quickly grabbed Fred and Arthur before activating her Portkey back to Potter Castle.

"Hermione, get back to the castle, you cannot do anything more without risking yourselves," came Harry's voice over the communication channel.

"I'm sorry, Harry," replied Hermione reluctantly before the three of them disappeared.

Meanwhile Harry and Ginny were concentrating on destroying the remaining Dementors as quickly as possible so that they could concentrate on the Death Eaters. They soon had all three Patronus flying around killing them, the whole time keeping a close eye on the activities of the Death Eaters. It was clear that they were attempting to escape because they had stopped focusing their attack on Harry or Ginny.

However they didn't spot the lone Death Eater who had arrived separately from the others and was slowly approaching them from behind. The few remaining Death Eaters who had arrived at the start of the battle were starting to move towards the gap that had opened up when Hermione disappeared. However they were soon stopped when a bright flash announced the arrival of several new wizards each holding on to the tail of a Phoenix. To their dismay Albus Dumbledore was one of them and immediately launched a series of curses towards them.

The lone Death Eater continued to approach Harry and Ginny and as he got closer pulled a knife out of his pocket, which had been coated in deadly venom, his task was to get one of Harry's friends. There was no known antidote to the poison and it would have guaranteed a very painful death. The Death Eater had chosen to target Ginny and was about to plunge the knife into her back when Harry sense his presence and without hesitation grabbed Ginny at the same time casting a Stunner towards the Death Eater.

Unfortunately for the Death Eater, Harry's Stunner was extremely powerful due to the fact that he was holding Ginny when it was launched. The result was staggering as the Death Eater was launched at extreme high velocity into the nearby wall killing him instantly; it was a miracle that he wasn't vaporized on impact.

In the middle of the square the battle was still raging; with the presence of Albus Dumbledore the attackers knew they didn't have much chance at escaping so instead they attempted to cause as much damage as possible.

The Death Eaters were still alternating between attack and defense, if they could knock them out then the battle would be over quickly.

' _Gin, there are four Death Eater gathered together are you able to see them?_ '

' _Yes, I can see them from here,_ ' she replied as she grabbed a stun grenade from her bag.

' _Perfect, let's see these in action then,_ ' Harry told her.

She activated the grenade and quickly threw it toward the group. As in the tests the grenade worked perfectly and the four were quickly disabled. In the confusion this caused two other Death Eaters to be disabled; leaving two remaining.

The last two proved to be difficult to deal with, they were obviously a lot more experienced than the other Death Eaters and were actually causing some damage.

Molly Weasley had been on the receiving end of a Sectumsempra curse and was bleeding badly. They couldn't risk sending her to St. Mungos with the injury and were currently under attack by the remaining Death Eaters so were not able to heal her.

"Guys, Molly is badly hurt, we have to end this soon," shouted Harry over the communication channel. The reaction was immediate as twelve extremely powerful Stunners were launched towards the remaining Death Eaters completely destroying their shields and taking them out.

Dumbledore and the other wizards who had arrived quickly secured each of the Death Eaters and checked each of them for Portkeys, they also and took their wands and snapped them to ensure they could not attempt to escape.

Everyone else quickly made their way over to Molly where Harry and Ginny were already tended to her, she was losing blood rapidly. Xavier flashed in moments later and started to drop tears into the wound adding to the tears that Harry and Ginny were already using, thankfully they didn't need to transform to produce them. The wound was slowly healing but still wasn't fast enough for their liking, a moment later Fawkes arrived and soon started healing her as well.

The combined tears of the four Phoenixes finally healed the wound but Molly was dangerously close to death and urgently needed blood. Moments later Fawkes disappeared with Molly, while Harry, Ginny left with Xavier.

* * *

Dumbledore was furious after the battle was over because not a single Auror had turned up for the battle except Tonks who had been off duty that day and had been one of the Order Members. Kingsley would have been there too but was forced to work that day.

Dumbledore sent a message to Kingsley to find out what happened. Moments later his team arrived explaining that they had been sent to Hogsmeade.

"Sorry, Albus, Fudge ordered us to Hogsmeade; he wouldn't listen to reason when I told him the reports were coming in from Diagon Alley. We should investigate this further to determine why he sent us to the wrong place," Kingsley told him.

"Thank you, Kingsley. I have heard enough and will be bring this before the Wizengamot soon. In the meantime we need to interview anyone we can and determine exactly what happened. Unfortunately several people lost their lives, and I know that Molly Weasley is dangerously ill. Fawkes just returned from taking her to St. Mungos."

The Auror's soon spread out and started interviewing witnesses to determine what had happened. During the process Minister Fudge arrived to see the scene for himself.

* * *

As soon as Fawkes arrived at St. Mungos the healer on duty rushed her into a room and started examining Molly to determine what was wrong. They could not see any physically wounds but it was very clear from the diagnostic tests that she had lost a lot of blood and was very close to death.

The healer quickly ordered the nurse to start administered blood replenishment potions and to monitor her closely. They could not just replace all the blood in one go but had to do it slowly.

He exited from the room and approached Harry and Ginny who were standing outside the room looking very upset.

"Good afternoon, I am Healer Johnson," he said.

"Good afternoon, Healer Johnson. I am Ginny Weasley, Molly's daughter and this is my boyfriend Harry Potter."

"I am sorry to say Miss Weasley that your mother is dangerously close to death. We are doing everything we can but it will take time to replace all the blood that was lost."

While they were talking, Xavier returned with Arthur, Fred and Hermione who all looked very worried. Ginny quickly gave them an update on what the Healer had told them.

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Harry.

"We would like to know how the wound was healed as there is no trace at all of it?" Healer Johnson asked.

"The Phoenixes healed her," Harry replied.

"Ah that explains a lot of things; she would have died from the injury if it had not been healed so quickly. It is going to be a while before she can leave the hospital and will still be in danger for the next couple of days while the blood replenishment works," Healer Johnson replied.

Healer Johnson asked them to limit the visits to only three people at a time. They couldn't risk having too many people around the bed at the same time while the blood was being replenished. Arthur spent all of his time in the room while the others alternated.

They all knew that Molly was a fighter and would most likely pull through, they held on to this hope as other members of the family and their friends arrived to see how she was doing. The visits were becoming shorter as the number of people increased.

Realizing that there was nothing more they could do at the moment Harry and Ginny decided to head back to Diagon Alley to discuss the events with Dumbledore and Kingsley.

* * *

They Auror's had almost completed the investigation into what happened and wanted to be certain of all the facts before closing the case.

Harry approached Albus Dumbledore and asked him if there was anything they could help with.

"Harry, we need to determine what happened with this Death Eater. It appears that the reports of what happened are confused to say the least," Albus told him.

Harry remembered this was the one that had attempted to attack Ginny with the knife.

"We were taking care of the Dementors when this one snuck behind us. At the last moment I sense his presences just as he attempted to attack Ginny with that knife. I span round pulling Ginny away from him at the same time as I cast a Stunner at him. I guess the fact that I was holding Ginny at the time meant that it was a very powerful Stunner.

"After that we didn't have time to determine what happened to him because the battle was still raging," Harry told him.

"Thank you, Harry we have determined that the knife had a deadly poison. If he had managed to attack Ginny she would have died a very painful death. And you know what that would have meant," replied Dumbledore with concern.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied before pulling Ginny close as it suddenly hit him what could have happened.

Harry and Ginny continued to talk with Dumbledore about what had happened, they told him that Molly would most likely be okay. It would be several days before they knew for certain. They also told him that Arthur, Fred and Hermione had returned safely to Potter Castle and were now at St. Mungos with the rest of the family.

As they were talking an argument broke out between Minister Fudge and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"You cannot be serious, Minister. Harry Potter was clearly defending himself," Shacklebolt shouted.

"Yes, I am serious; I will not allow the glory boy to get away with this. He is responsible for the death of this wizard and will pay for it," replied Fudge.

By this time the three of them joined the conversation.

"What is the meaning of this, Minister?" asked Dumbledore when he got there.

"Mr. Potter was responsible for the death of this Wizard," replied Fudge as he glared at Harry.

"It was self defence, Minister. We have already determined that the knife he was carrying was coated in deadly venom. He was about to attack Miss Weasley when Harry pulled her out of the way saving her life," stated Dumbledore angrily.

"We have several witnesses who say that the attack against this wizard was unprovoked. Harry Potter you are charged with murder and will be taken into custody," Fudge told them as he told several of the Auror's to arrest him.

Before they could approach a shield appeared around Harry and Ginny. The Auror's were not able to penetrate it with anything.

"This is outrageous, Fudge," Dumbledore said dangerously.

Fudge would not back down and as this continued a large group of people started to gather round watching what would happen. They felt new anti-Portkey and anti-Apparation wards go up around them.

' _Gin, I don't think we have any choice at the moment. If I leave now they will put an arrest warrant out of both of us and it will make things much harder._ '

' _You cannot be serious, Harry. They will send you to Azkaban before the trial, if they even give you one,_ ' replied Ginny sadly.

' _Gin, do you really think they would be able to get away without a trial?_ '

' _I don't like this,_ ' she told him clearly unhappy with this decision.

' _I don't either but what else can we do. Just make sure that Bill and Griphook gather as much information against Fudge in case we need it for the trial. The Dementors will have no effect on me and we can still communicate,_ ' Harry told her.

He pulled her into a hug and gently kissed her, he could tell that she was not happy with him. Deciding that it would be better if she wasn't there he summoned Xavier and asked him to take her back to Potter Castle, the Auror's watching in amazement as a Phoenix suddenly appeared inside the shield and disappear with Ginny.

Harry dropped the shield around him and willing allowed the Auror's to place him under arrest. It was clear that most of the Auror's disagreed with what was happening and so did most of the crowd that had gathered around.

' _This could work better then we hoped,_ ' Harry told Ginny. ' _Fudge has just lost what little political capital he may have had._ '

' _I hope it is worth it, Harry. I am not happy about this at all,_ ' she told him angrily before refusing to speak further.

' _I know and I am sorry but we had no other choice at the moment._ '

Dumbledore told Fudge that he had not heard the end of this.

Harry was led away by the Auror's to a large shout of "Down with Fudge." He didn't resist and was soon placed in a cell at Azkaban, to his surprise the Dementors could not even go near the wing. It appeared that Xavier and Fawkes had placed Phoenix wards around it which prevented them from entering.

"What is wrong with the Dementors?" one of the guards asked his colleague.

"I don't know? I have never seen them act this way before."

"We are sorry, Mr. Potter. Minister Fudge has told us you are to be held in maximum security which means you have to be chained at all times," the guard told him.

"Fine, just get on with it," Harry told them.

The guard place the chain around Harry's ankles and made sure it was secured.

Once they left Maxim arrived and served him dinner. Harry thanked him after eating his fill and quickly collapsed onto the bed and into a deep sleep.

* * *

Back at Potter Castle a very angry Ginny was pacing around their bedroom, she could sense that Harry had finally fallen asleep but was not quite ready to talk to him yet. She was angry with him for letting them take him to Azkaban and needed to vent.

Finally she walked down to the training room and took her aggression out on the training dummies around the room. When she had completely destroyed all of those in the room she finally felt ready to sleep and headed back to their room.

When she finally entered their mind she still refused to talk to Harry. Harry was starting to get angry with her because no matter what he did she refused to talk to him.

"Fine, I will escape tonight and return to Potter Castle. When Fudge fires your father and targets your family to get information about where I am don't blame me," shouted Harry before blocking the bond.

For the first time in seven months Ginny suddenly felt very alone, she could still feel Harry but it was so weak that it scared her. The longer she lay there the worse she felt, she only had herself to blame. Harry was right Fudge would have targeted her family; he would have most likely put warrants out for all their arrests making it impossible to return to Hogwarts next year. Not that Ginny would have returned if Harry wasn't there.

Realizing that she had to fix this quickly, Ginny reached out to Xavier in the bond and asked him to tell Harry that she was sorry and wanted to talk to him.

A few minutes later Harry unblocked the bond, she rushed over to him with tears streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed as she fell into his waiting arms.

"So am I, I shouldn't have shouted at you," replied Harry.

"Yes you should, I was being stupid," she told him.

Harry didn't respond but instead kissed her soundly, it wasn't the same as really being able to kiss her but that was all they had at the moment so made the most of it.

"At least we can talk here," Harry told her. "I don't know what I would have done if we didn't have the bond to keep us together."

"I don't either, Harry."

The scene inside their mind changed to reflect the bedroom at Potter Castle and they both climbed into bed and fell into a deep relaxing sleep as Xavier sang to them through the bond.

* * *

Voldemort was furious he had sent most of his best Death Eaters and a large group of Dementors to attack Harry Potter and his friends and none of them returned.

"Severus, how can they have been prepared for the attack?" Voldemort hissed.

"I don't know, Master," he replied as he carefully suppressed the urge to laugh.

"I thought that you were betraying me. But as you have been here since before we planned the attack it must mean someone else is," Voldemort continued.

"I am sorry I have caused you to doubt my loyalty, Master," replied Severus.

"I won't make that mistake again," replied Voldemort almost sounding apologetic.

As they continued to talk the female Death Eater who appeared after the last meeting entered the room.

"Master, I have news," she said before realizing Severus was in the room.

"Speak," Voldemort told her.

"Master, Harry Potter has been arrested and placed in Azkaban for killing one of the Death Eaters," she replied.

"Finally some good news," he hissed. "What happened to my Death Eaters?"

"They have all been arrested, Master. Potter and his friends were ready for the attack and managed to place wards over the square preventing them from escaping. They had just created an escape route when Dumbledore arrived and the battle was quickly over," she told him.

"Tell me they at least did some damage?" Voldemort hissed again as he angry quickly rose.

"They killed several bystanders and badly injured Molly Weasley," she replied hesitantly.

"WHAT, ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT TEN OF MY BEST DEATH EATERS ONLY MANAGED TO KILL A FEW PEOPLE?" he shouted before torturing her for several minutes, her screams filled the room as she writhed around on the floor in agony.

"Y-y-yes, M-m-mas-ter," she replied while still shaking violently from the torture.

Voldemort was now pacing the room thinking, he had to do something soon otherwise no one would fear him. He needed to strike decisively and he knew that with Potter in prison now was the perfect time. Deciding that St. Mungos would be the target he quickly formulated a plan. It seemed that the Weasley's were more involved in this then he realized and killing them would be icing on the cake.

"Severus, I want all my Death Eaters here tomorrow morning. We are going to make them pay for what they have done," Voldemort told him.

"Yes, Master," replied Severus knowing not to ask what the target was because it had not been volunteered.

Unfortunately for Voldemort the meeting was being observed.

* * *

Harry immediately rushed back to their mind and summoned Xavier.

"Xavier, please contact Fawkes and ask him to tell Professor Dumbledore that Voldemort plans to attack St. Mungos in the morning."

Xavier disappeared immediately.

"Gin, you need to wake up," Harry told her while gently shaking her.

"What's wrong?" said a sleepy Ginny as she stretched.

"Tom is planning to attack St. Mungos tomorrow. I have already warned Dumbledore, but you need to get there urgently. He wants to make a statement but the main aim is to kill as many of your family as he can."

Ginny was fully awake by the time Harry had finished, she forced her body to wake up too.

"Maxim," she called. The elf appeared a moment later.

"You called, Ginny?" he asked politely.

"Yes, I need you to wake everyone up urgently," she replied before rushing to her closet and grabbing clothes.

Five minutes later everyone was gather in the entrance hall to Potter Castle.

"What's going on," asked a sleepy Fred.

"Harry just discovered that Tom is planning to attack St. Mungos in the morning. We need to help secure the building and move Mum here," Ginny told them.

"Should we really move her?" asked Hermione looking concerned.

"We have no choice, Tom is planning to kill as many of us as possible and if Mum is there still then so will we be. Xavier will be able to safely transport her here and then Maxim and his team can help care for her," replied Ginny.

 _A/N: Okay I added the plot about Cho because I was thinking about it for another story and decided that it would be better in this one. We have not heard the last of her yet._


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

All those who were staying at Potter Castle arrived at St. Mungo's less than an hour after Harry had witnessed the meeting between Voldemort, Snape and the other Death Eater. They quickly headed up to the room where Molly was staying and made sure that it was secure.

"We have to move Molly urgently," Ginny explained to the Healer as they entered the room.

"Sorry, Miss Weasley, but I cannot allow this," replied Healer Johnson.

"We have no choice," exclaimed Ginny.

"If you move her now she could die," Johnson said as he stood between Ginny and Molly. Arthur could see from Ginny's expression that she was not going to back down and whatever reason she had for moving Molly was quite a valid one.

"Healer Johnson, Ginny would not risk her mother's health without a very good reason," Arthur stated.

"Mr. Weasley, surely you don't believe it necessary to move her?" Johnson asked in shock.

"If she says we need to move her then yes I do," replied Arthur as he gathered Molly's things so they could leave urgently.

"Well if you do so then it is at your own risk, I will not be held responsible," huffed Healer Johnson, who could clearly see that he wasn't going to win this battle.

"I understand that Sir," replied Ginny as she prepared Molly for transport with Xavier advising her. "We have no choice. Voldemort is planning to attack the Hospital in the morning and he is not happy that his attack yesterday failed. If we are here then he will all but destroy the hospital to get to us."

"How will you transport her?" Johnson asked.

"Xavier will flash her to a new location," Ginny told him.

"I will need to know where she is," Johnson told Ginny while running another diagnostic on Molly.

"We will sort that out tomorrow, I suggest that at the moment you focus on securing as much of the Hospital that you can," replied Ginny. "Once we have moved Molly we are going to return and help."

Moments later Xavier flashed into the room, followed by Fawkes who had Professor Dumbledore with him

"What's going on?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor, we are going to transport my Mum to a secure location. Then we need to secure as much of the hospital as we can," Ginny told him.

"We will have to proceed carefully, we don't want Tom or the Death Eaters to suspect anything until we have trapped them inside," Dumbledore stated.

"We will not be able to secure the whole building since it is too big, we believe it would be better to secure several locations and move as many patients to those locations," replied Ginny.

"The problem is we don't know if there are any Death Eaters already in the hospital, if there are then they could alert Tom," Dumbledore told them.

Ginny considered what Dumbledore had said and wondered if they would be able to use their Phoenix abilities or wards to detect the Dark Mark. They had learnt a lot about the Dark Mark since entering Voldemort's mind and knew how it was linked back to him.

' _Xavier, could we create a ward that would alert us when someone with a Dark Mark passed through it?_ ' asked Ginny.

' _Yes, it is similar to how the wards at Potter Castle detect those who are not authorized to enter. It is more complex because of the way the Dark Mark works but it would still work._ '

' _Can both you and Fawkes place one at each entrance to the Hospital and also at each of the locations that we secure?_ ' asked Ginny again.

' _Yes, as soon as I return from taking your Mum to Potter Castle I will assist Fawkes,_ ' replied Xavier before disappearing with Molly.

"Professor, Fawkes and Xavier are going to create wards on all the entrances, to the Hospital, that can detect the Dark Mark. They will also add them to each of the locations that we secure," Ginny told him.

"I didn't know that was possible," stated Dumbledore who was deep in thought. Ginny could tell that Dumbledore was already thinking about other possible application for this if it worked.

"Since we entered Tom's mind we have learnt a lot about the Mark and are able to detect it's signature with Phoenix Magic," Ginny told him.

"So you will be able to detect if anyone in a room has the Mark?" asked Dumbledore.

"I will only be able to when I am close to them; my Phoenix Magic is not strong enough yet to cover the whole room. Xavier will be able to once he returns, I suggest we wait for him," Ginny replied.

A few minutes later Xavier returned tell Ginny that Molly had safely arrived at Potter Castle and was now in the care of Maxim and his team.

* * *

As soon as Xavier arrived Ginny took command of the process.

"Okay we need to make sure we secure the patient's and prepare the lobby for the attack. If we can contain the Death Eaters to the Lobby then it will allow us to control the battle much better," explained Ginny.

"That sounds like a good plan," responded Dumbledore. "I will take a team to the Lobby and start preparing it."

Hermione, Fred, Katie and George left with Fawkes and Dumbledore, the others stayed with Ginny and Xavier to move the patients into secure areas.

They were moving as fast as they could without raising suspicion and due to Xavier and Ginny's ability to detect the Dark Mark found several Death Eaters during the process. Each one was quickly dealt with and sent by Portkey to Potter Castle's dungeons.

When they arrived at the long term patient ward Neville was very nervous, despite their friendship he had not told anyone that his parents were there. As they entered the room Ginny could tell that he was worried.

"Neville, what wrong?" asked Ginny kindly as Xavier surveyed the room.

Neville didn't respond to the question but Ginny could see him staring at two of the occupants in the corner. She slowly made her way over to them and when she saw their names realized what was wrong.

"Oh, Neville, I'm sorry," Ginny said thankfully Luna was there and was comforting him.

"What happened to them?" Ginny asked a few minutes later.

"They were attacked by Death Eaters after Harry's parents were killed. Bellatrix Lestrange tortured them into madness because they would not tell her anything," Neville explained quietly while continuing to stare at them.

Ginny didn't know how to respond to that; however she did wonder if there was anything they could do to help Neville.

' _Harry, do you think we could transport them to Potter Castle?_ ' asked Ginny over the bond.

' _We need to discuss this with Neville,_ ' replied Harry while understanding Ginny's desire to help they needed to fully understand the situation before committing to anything.

' _You're right, I just wish we had known before now,_ ' replied Ginny sadly.

' _I know, so do I. But I can understand why Neville didn't want to talk about it too,_ ' Harry told her.

' _However now is not the time to worry about this, you need to finish securing the hospital,_ ' Harry reminded her.

"Sorry, Neville but we need to move on and finish," Ginny explained as they sealed the room.

Four hours after they arrived they had moved most of the patients into the secure locations. Each location was secured by wards so that no one could enter or exit until the wards were cancelled.

Meanwhile in the main entrance Dumbledore and his team were making sure everyone was safely evacuated. They then secured most of the exits from the main lobby so that when the Death Eaters arrived they would be trapped.

Dumbledore had alerted the Order of the impending attack and they were now located throughout the main lobby of the Hospital. A number of Auror's had also arrived with Kingsley and Tonks, most of them had expressed their displeasure at what had happened with Harry and had resigned in protest.

Dumbledore started assigned people to various tasks for when the Death Eaters arrived. Hermione and Fred would put up the anti-Apparation ward, Katie and George the anti-Portkey ward, Tonks asked to active several Auror recording devices so that they could final prove that Voldemort had returned; should he turn up at the battle.

Once they had completed setting the lobby they all waited, some were dressed as Healers, and others looked like patients. To the untrained eye it would seem that everything was normal. They were soon joined by Ginny and her team and now they waited patiently.

* * *

Harry was silently observing the Death Eater meeting; Voldemort had just been told them that St. Mungo's was the target for the attack. He made it very clear to them that the priority was to find and kill all the members of the Weasley family except for the daughter; she was to be captured and would be their reward.

Voldemort told them to do as much damage as possible as they searched the Hospital for the Weasley's and none were to be left alive.

' _Ginny, the Death Eaters are about to leave,_ ' Harry told her as he exited Voldemort's mind.

' _Okay, everyone is ready here,_ ' replied Ginny as she alerted Dumbledore.

"Everyone, we have received word that the Death Eaters will arrive momentarily. We will attack as soon as they arrive, we are not going to give them any chance to react this time," Dumbledore announced.

The Death Eaters Apparated directly to the foyer of St. Mungo's hoping that the element of surprise would allow them to quickly separate and start searching.

As soon as the Death Eaters arrived a volley of curses was fired towards them dropping several before they even got a curse off. The others in their panic started firing Curses in every direction and as with Diagon Alley were sticking to the Killing Curse. Most of the defenders had selected their positions for the excellent cover it provided; the Death Eaters were not able to make much progress and once again knew that they had been expected.

As soon as the Death Eaters had landed the three teams quickly activated the wards and recording devices and then joined the battle.

"It's a trap," shouted one of the Death Eaters who then attempted to Apparate away and warn Voldemort.

"They have anti-Apparation wards," he said a moment later.

"Then we fight," shouted another as he jumped behind a desk to protect himself.

A pitch battle then ensued with neither side making much progress, the Death Eaters had quickly found cover and were working in teams to defend and attack. The Order and Auror's were doing the same. The only difference was that the Death Eaters had no problems using the Unforgivables.

Slowly but surely the battle was going against the Death Eaters, they were too used to always having the upper hand and to be surrounded by a large group of people who matched them equally slowed them down.

Albus Dumbledore was battling with several Death Eaters when another person joined the battle. Voldemort had placed a trace on Snape and had been monitoring the battle, having seen yet again that they were trapped he realized that he would have to do the job himself if he wanted it done correctly. No one realized that he had appeared in the lobby despite the various protections that should have stopped him.

"Good morning, Tom," Albus said.

"It won't be a good morning for you, Dumbledore," hissed Voldemort. "You don't have you wonder boy to help you this time."

"You won't win, Tom," replied Albus.

"I already have, Harry Potter is now in prison and it will only be a matter of time before he is dead," replied Voldemort with a laugh.

Voldemort then started dueling Dumbledore, no one was surprised at the amount of power in the curses that they were using. A number of the Death Eaters stopped defending themselves and watched the battle this allowed the Order and Auror's to quickly take them out. So far no one had been killed; there were a few bad injuries but nothing that could not be fixed.

Twenty minutes later the battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore was still going on with neither of them making much progress. In a desperate attempt to win Voldemort threw all his strength into a blasting hex that smashed into Dumbledore's shield, causing him to stagger back and trip on broken chair. As he fell backwards he hit his head on a nearby table and was knocked out.

Voldemort was exhausted but seeing Dumbledore down went for the kill, he threw a killing curse towards the prone body of Albus Dumbledore to the horror of everyone around them.

The curse continued unabated toward Dumbledore, and looked certain to end the life of the greatest wizard of the current age, when suddenly one of the Death Eaters jumped in front of Dumbledore and took the curse for him. The Death Eater fell in a heap at Dumbledore's feet his mask still covering his face.

Voldemort was absolutely livid that he had been betrayed and threw two more Killing Curses at Dumbledore. This time it didn't look like anyone was going to be able to stop them as no one was close enough. As the curses closed in on Dumbledore's prone body a flash of light filled the lobby and suddenly a golden shield appeared and completely absorbed the curses.

Voldemort was speechless as he watched the unstoppable curses hit a shield, the shield grew brighter as it absorbed the curses and then everything went deadly silent.

When the light from the shield disappeared a young man was standing directly where the shield had appeared. He waited patiently to see what Voldemort would do next knowing that this would annoy him even more.

"How is this possible?" hissed Voldemort uncertainly.

"As I have told you and your incompetent followers in the past, it is possible if you know how to do magic properly," said the newcomer with a smirk.

"You are a fool if you think you can defeat me," replied Voldemort. "I have already defeated the great Albus Dumbledore."

"You didn't defeat Albus Dumbledore. He is perfectly well, you were just lucky that he lost his footing when your hex hit his shield. You couldn't even break through his shield when you used all your power," mocked the new comer.

Voldemort was enraged and started throwing curse after curse toward the stranger; Once again the golden shield appeared and absorbed each and every curse that Voldemort threw at him. The stranger quickly got tired of this and engaged Voldemort in a duel. A second battle then ensued, what surprised everyone who was watching was the amount of power that was pouring off the stranger and the sheer number of curses that were flying between the two of them. As the battle continued it was clear that Voldemort was tiring.

"Everyone tells me you are the most powerful Wizard alive," mocked the stranger.

Voldemort wasn't able to respond as he was too tired from the battle and was using all his strength just to keep fighting.

"What's wrong Tom? Were you expecting this to be easy?" the stranger said.

"You will not win," Voldemort managed to say.

"Are you so sure?" said the stranger before he produced a second wand and threw two extremely powerful blasting curses at Voldemort completely destroying his shield and blasting him to into the nearby wall knocking him out cold. Everyone was stunned, not even Dumbledore has been able to break the shield of Voldemort yet this stranger had not only cast two curses at the same time which was thought to be almost impossible but had completely obliterated the shield.

The Death Eaters who were still fighting suddenly realized that their Master had been badly injured and gathered around him. They quickly smashed a hole in the nearby wall and escaped carrying the body with them. By the time they were beyond the wards there were only five of them still standing as the Auror's and Order members continued to fire curses at them.

The battle was finally over and no one except the Death Eater who sacrificed himself had been killed, a number of serious injuries were now being treated. Albus Dumbledore had been awakened and was very sore from the battle. The healers and medi-witches had quickly arrived in the lobby once the wards were released and were quickly taking care of the injured.

Thirty five Death Eaters had been captured and were now being searched so that they could remove any Portkeys or other objects they might be carrying. Their wands were snapped and when the Auror's finally arrived they were arrested and escorted to the Ministry for questioning.

The stranger disappeared as soon as the battle was over and only two people knew his real identity and neither would ever tell another soul. What surprised everyone was the fact that he disappeared with the Death Eater who had saved Dumbledore.

* * *

Harry arrived at Hogwarts Castle with the body of Severus Snape, he had more than made up for the mistake that had cost the lives of James and Lily and deserved a proper burial.

Harry carefully placed the body on the bed in the infirmary and informed Madam Pomfrey of the sacrifice that he had made.

Knowing that he would not be able to stay around for long in case anyone came back Harry disappeared from Hogwarts and returned to his cell. Once he had changed back into his regular appearance he settled down on his bed and wept for Severus. He was also feeling guilty for not arriving at the battle sooner; if he had then Severus would not have needed to sacrifice himself.

Several hours later Ginny had finally finished helping clean up at St. Mungo's and had flashed directly to Harry's cell and immediately pulled him into a long passionate kiss. She was so caught up with everything that had happened that she didn't noticed Harry's sadness even though the bond.

' _You were amazing,_ ' Ginny told him.

' _I couldn't let him win, I saw what he planned to do to you if he captured you,_ ' Harry told her.

' _I saw it too, Harry,_ ' she replied sadly.

' _I am just glad that you were not hurt,_ ' Harry told her as he showed her how sad he would be if she had been injured.

' _I love you too, and would feel the same if you were injured._ '

Suddenly Ginny noticed the wetness on her shoulder from Harry's tears.

' _What's wrong Harry?_ ' asked Ginny.

' _It's Severus, he was the Death Eater that saved Dumbledore,_ ' replied Harry as the sadness and guilt overwhelmed him.

Ginny pulled him into another hug and poured her love for him into the bond to comfort him.

' _Harry, I know you are feeling guilty for not arriving sooner. You couldn't have known that Severus was willing to sacrifice himself. If you had been there sooner there is no guarantee that he would not have died anyway,_ ' Ginny told him firmly.

' _I know, it just making it worse that we just got to know the real him and now he is gone._ '

' _But at least he will now be able to face you parents, he may not have liked your father but we both know he loved your mother at one point and has now followed her example by sacrificing himself,_ ' Ginny told him kindly.

Ginny continued to comfort Harry for a while longer as Harry came to terms with what had happened.

' _I don't think Tom is going to be waking up for some time,_ ' Harry told her.

' _Well he got what he deserved; it will be interesting to see his reaction to all this especially when he realizes that it was Snape that betrayed him._ '

' _We are going to have to monitor him more closely now, I think we should check the door soon to see how badly hurt he is. It may give us an opportunity to really look around for more information on the Horcruxes,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Okay, but now you need some reason, then we need to find out what is happening about your trial,_ ' Ginny told him as she kissing him gently.

' _Thank you, I hope this will be over soon, I hate that we can only spend time here. I missing everyone so much,_ ' Harry told her.

' _I could stay here tonight,_ ' she told him.

' _I don't think that would be a good idea, I have missed you so much at night and I don't think we want to entertain any of the other inmates with our activities if we stay together,_ ' replied Harry resigned to having to cuddle before she left.

' _I will see you soon,_ ' Ginny told him as she flashed out of the cell back to their bedroom at Potter Castle and climbed into bed to rest after the long day.

' _Love you,_ ' replied Harry as he also fell asleep.

* * *

The Death Eaters arrived back at Voldemort's hiding place and immediately placed him in his chambers.

"We need to find a healer quickly," said one of them.

"Where are we going to find someone who would be willing to help?" asked another.

"Just find someone and put them under the Imperius curse, we cannot allow Lord Voldemort to go untreated," the first replied.

The second Death Eater left immediately to find someone; meanwhile the others took care of Voldemort and then waited. Almost an hour later the Death Eater returned with a Healer, fortunately he was also a Death Eater so was able to access the hideout otherwise they would have had to move Voldemort to another location as he was the secret keeper. The healer immediately started to treat Voldemort but wasn't confident that he could do much.

"We need Snape," said the Healer after completing several tests.

"He betrayed Voldemort during the battle and saved Dumbledore's life. We will have to make do without him," explained the lead Death Eater.

"He is very badly injured, what happened?" the Healer asked.

"He was blasted into a wall at high velocity," the Death Eater replied.

"I have healed as much of the physical damage as I can, however until he wakes up there is no way of knowing the full extent of his injuries."

"Who did this?" asked the Healer.

"We don't know someone appeared during the battle. He was able to produce a shield that could stop the Killing Curse at least twice. None of the curses that Voldemort used could penetrate the shield," explained the Death Eater who was clearly very scared of this fact.

"We must find out who it was, Voldemort will not be happy when he wakes up and if we don't have some information for him then it will be even worse," said another Death Eater.

"Very well, find out what you can and report back here. And find someone to make the potions that we need," said the lead Death Eater before dismissing everyone.

He placed several wards on the room that Voldemort was in; he vowed to protect his Master in the hopes of earning favor when he returned.

* * *

Later that evening Dumbledore arrived back at Hogwarts having had to deal with the aftermath of the battle at St. Mungo's.

Once he had been treated by the Healers he had to talk with Minister Fudge about what had happened and endure several hours of questioning by the Minister who insisted that it wasn't Voldemort who had attacked.

Fudge refused to accept the recording off the attack stating that Auror Tonks was no longer employed by the Ministry and therefore should not have been using the devices. Instead he confiscated them and warned her that if she was found with Ministry property again she would be arrested and charged.

Once Fudge left the hospital Dumbledore then had to help deal with the Death Eaters who had been captured. Unfortunately they were not able to learn much from them as Voldemort didn't trust any of them so would only tell them information before a mission.

As soon as he arrived in his office he received a message from Madam Pomfrey to join him in the infirmary.

He quickly made his way down hoping that it wasn't anything serious.

"Good evening, Albus," Madam Pomfrey said as he entered.

"Good evening, I came as soon as I got your message," replied Dumbledore.

"I think we should have a seat before proceeding, I have extreme bad news for you," Pomfrey said as she pulled out a chair for him.

"I'm sorry, Albus, there is no easy way to say this but during the battle today Severus was struck by a Killing curse," she told him sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"I take it you didn't know, Severus took one of Voldemort's killing curses aimed at you after you fell."

Dumbledore slumped down into his chair, he was devastated at the news he never expected to outlive the man he thought of as a son. To Madam Pomfrey's surprise tears started to fall from Dumbledore's eyes.

"How did he get back here?"

"Harry brought him back, he told me what he did and that you would want to know when you got back," Madam Pomfrey told him.

Dumbledore spent the next several hours with the body of Severus wondering what would happen with the war now. He knew they had other ways of keeping track of Voldemort's activities, he just hoped that Severus was finally happy and able to find friendship as he starts the next great adventure.

Unfortunately this now meant that Dumbledore would have to find another Potions Professor and soon, if Fudge finds out that the position is open he may attempt to put another of his cronies in.

* * *

Ginny finally woke up the next morning and after getting ready made her way down to the kitchens to get some breakfast. As she sat down she noticed a copy of the Daily Prophet sitting on the table.

 _ **Minister denies He-who-must-not-be-named involved in St. Mungo's attack  
By Rosey Gardiner**_

 _ **This morning Minister Fudge issued the following statement regarding the rumors that He-who-must-no-be-named was involved in the attack at St. Mungo's.**_

 _ **"It has come to our attention that Albus Dumbledore is once again stating that He-who-must-not-be-named was present at the alleged Death Eater attack at St. Mungo's. We have investigated these claims and once again must re-iterate that there is no evidence to support them.**_

 _ **"This office was not alerted that an attack had occurred at St. Mungo's and none of the active Auror's were present. We believe Albus Dumbledore staged the attack in an attempt to convince the Wizarding World that He-who-must-not-be-named had returned. We also believe this was some crazy attempt to free Harry Potter from Azkaban".**_

 _ **"An investigation into the activities of Albus Dumbledore has been started. As a result of his actions we are taking a more active role in the running of Hogwarts, today we have appointed Undersecretary Delores Jane Umbridge as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, she will be following a Ministry approved curriculum and will report directly to me".**_

 _ **"I will remind the people of the Magical Britain that He-who-must-not-be-named was defeated thirteen years ago by Harry Potter. Harry Potter, who has tried multiple times recently to use his fame, has gone too far this time. He is now facing charges for killing an innocent man, who he claims was trying to kill his girlfriend, in Diagon Alley recently and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law".**_

 _ **"Finally I would like to quash the rumors that a large number of Auror's resigned in protest due to the charges raised against Harry Potter, this is (just another rumor), they were all relieved from duty for gross misconduct and failing to live up to the responsibilities of being an Auror."**_

 _ **The Daily Prophet is not able to comment further on these issues due to a new law from the Ministry threatening to close down any publication that did.**_

Ginny was outraged by the time she had finished reading the article. She didn't care what anyone else said and immediately flashed into Harry's cell with the article.

"Hi," Harry said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a long deep kiss.

"Sorry, I was just so mad after reading the article that I needed to hold you in my arms," Ginny told him when they surfaced for air.

"I know, I could see just how angry you were. We have to do something soon about him," Harry replied as they continued to hold each other close.

"I don't understand how he can say that when we had the recording devices active and they clearly show the Voldemort was in the lobby," Ginny said angrily.

"I am certain that Fudge had them confiscated so that no one would find out," replied Harry. "We will just find out what he did with them and add this to the growing list of charges against him. We are going to have to act soon as he is letting the Wizarding World crumble due to his incompetence."

They continued to talk and cuddle for another hour discussing what they would like to do to Fudge when they had the chance.

They were so caught up with each other that they didn't even notice the guard who approached the cell.

"Mr. Potter, we don't normally do this but I wanted you to see what the Daily Prophet said this morning," the guard told him as he passed the paper through the bars.

"Thank you," Harry replied.

They were both stunned, either the guard chose to ignore the fact that Ginny was sitting in his lap or he didn't see her. Either way they were not complaining as it would allow them to spend more time together.

* * *

The rest of the summer passed quickly after the battle, Ginny spent most of her time with Harry and none of the guards ever said anything about her being there. The one thing that continued to bother the both them was the lack of information about a trial date, they suspected that Fudge would try and avoid it as long as possible but knew that eventually he would have to allow the trial or there would be serious repercussions for his administration.

Harry had found out that Fudge has signed an executive order banning anyone from visiting Harry at Azkaban and had order the guards to enforce it or lose their jobs. This was yet another item added to the list of charges against Fudge because that included access to anyone to represent him in the trial.

As September 1st grew closer and closer; Ginny was putting more and more pressure on Dumbledore to do something about the lack of trial for Harry, she reminded him that he had the power to force the Wizengamot to do something and that if he didn't do it soon she would take matter into her own hands. She was not the only one who was putting pressure on Dumbledore as Sirius, Remus, most of the Weasley's were contacting him daily to ask what he was doing.

In the end Dumbledore informed them that if nothing had been done by 1st September he would call for an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot to sort it out.

The other teens spent most of their time at Potter Castle training and finishing off the various potions and devices that they had been creating, some of them would not be finished in time. Sandy and her team had been working with them and agreed to complete the potions while they were back at school. She would provide regular updates either via Harry or Ginny.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Albus Dumbledore thought that searching for a new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor each year was stressful however it was nothing compared to the search for a new Potions Professor. He was down to his last two options; it seemed that everyone else felt that teaching young people how to brew Potions was a waste of their time. He hoped that his old friend Horace Slughorn would take the position as the only other option he had was Perenelle Flamel, who due to the destruction of the Philosopher's Stone would soon start on the next great adventure.

Dumbledore had hoped to use Harry's fame to convince Slughorn to join the staff but due to his imprisonment he wasn't available and it seemed that Fudge was doing everything in his power to make sure Harry didn't return to Hogwarts in September.

He slowly walked to the gate of Hogwarts deep in thought; he had been contacted once again by Ginny Potter who had informed him that all those residing at Potter Castle would withdraw from Hogwarts if Harry's trial wasn't sorted out soon. He hoped that his meeting with Horace went well so that he could focus on getting Harry's trial sorted out.

Dumbledore appeared in a dark alley close to the house of his long term friend. He had not bothered to make an appointment as he suspected that Horace would disappear before the meeting. He slowly walked up to the door and notice that it was slightly ajar and the room looked like it has been trashed.

Taking his wand he quickly scanned the room and determined that there was only one other person present, he was currently hiding. Dumbledore conjured himself a Chintz chair and sat down next to his old friend.

"Good evening," Dumbledore said to the large chair next to him.

There was no response to his greeting so Dumbledore continued on.

"I know you are hiding there, my old friend. You know that you could never fully transform yourself correctly could you?

"Are you going to sit there all evening or finally acknowledge that I am here?"

Several minutes later Slughorn finally transformed back to his natural form, it then became clear that Horace has detected Dumbledore approaching and decided to trash the house himself so that it would appear that he was no longer there and Dumbledore would leave quickly.

"Albus, what brings you here?" asked Slughorn as he started repairing his possessions.

"Horace, I am in need of a Potions Professor," Dumbledore replied as he helped repair the damage.

"I'm sorry; as I told you before, I don't want to be involved in teaching any longer. What happened to that slimly git you had teaching; did he finally follow his old master?" Slughorn replied nastily.

"Actually, Severus Snape died an honourable death, he took a Killing Curse from Voldemort that would have hit me," responded Dumbledore angrily.

Horace wasn't a weak person but the sheer amount of power that flowed off Dumbledore as he spoke shocked him to his core.

"I'm sorry my friend I had no idea, I was wrong to speak badly of him," Slughorn offered quietly.

"Severus made some terrible mistakes in his life but he more than made up for them when he became our spy against Voldemort. We have lost a valuable friend and colleague which is why I need you to come and teach again," Dumbledore replied as he began to calm down.

Slughorn slumped down in his chair, he knew his old friend would not give up on this and to be honest he could use the money, ever since that stupid bet, where he lost most of his money, he had been struggling to have enough to live on.

"Okay, okay I'll do it," replied Slughorn in resignation.

Dumbledore was expecting it to take much longer to convince him so was slightly surprised when he said yes so quickly.

They spent the next couple hours catching up and discussing the plan for Slughorn to return to Hogwarts. It was decided in the end that he would travel on the Hogwarts Express with the students as another level of protection. There would already be significant protection on the train as they were not going to take any chances after what happened at the end of last term.

* * *

The next morning a private memorial service took place for Severus Snape. The staff currently staying at Hogwarts gathered near the lake with several other people who wanted to pay their last respects and knew what had happened.

Snape had requested that his body be cremated to remove all evidence of the Dark Mark that had been a curse for many years. Dumbledore followed his request out of respect for what he had done. A simple memorial stone had been placed looking out over the great lake.

 _ **Severus Snape  
January 9, 1960 - August 20th 1995**_

Dumbledore addressed the few who had gathered, news of Severus's death had not been released to the general public to ensure that the Minister could not interfere.

"Friends, we are gathered here to remember Severus Snape, from an early age he had a troubled life and made some terrible decisions that ultimately cost him more than he ever imagined.

"Severus was once close friends with Lily Evans; however he soon lost that friendship when he decided to follow Lord Voldemort. Several years after that he made a second mistake, this changed his live more than anything that happened to him.

"As a result of this mistake and the damage that it caused Severus, he became a spy against Voldemort. He worked tirelessly from that moment on, providing information that helped stop many attacks that Voldemort planned. It was never an easy road for Severus and several times he had to make terrible choices in order to keep his cover but he never swayed from that path.

"Severus made the ultimate sacrifice when he took the Killing Curse that was meant for me, he was a loyal friend and colleague and will be sorely missed," Dumbledore finished and quietly watched over the lake.

Before anyone else could speak four flashes of light announced the arrival of four Phoenixes, for the next ten minutes they flew around the lake in what could only be described as a beautiful ballet as they finished an eternal flame appeared on top of the memorial stone.

The group spend the next couple of hours talking about their memories of Severus; both good and bad before they returned to the castle for lunch. Dumbledore refused to answer any questions about the Phoenixes except to say that Fawkes was one of the four.

* * *

Finally on August 28th Fudge reluctantly agreed to hold the trial for Harry Potter. He had run out of excuses for not holding it and knew that Dumbledore would be able to call an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot if he didn't set the date in the next couple of days.

"Mr. Weasley, Please can you notify the Wizengamot that the trial of Harry Potter will be held on 1st September at 11am. In addition please publish a notice that any students of Hogwarts age who are present at the trial will be arrested and charged with truancy from school and would be punished severely," Fudge announced.

"Yes, Minister," replied Percy as he quickly noted down the instructions.

He then made his way to send off the notifications.

Percy had been loyal to the Minister since he left Hogwarts but recently had felt let down by the actions of the Minister. He still remembered vividly the attack on Ginny during the Tri-Wizard Tournament and had no doubt about what Harry had told them afterwards. He had also been there when St. Mungo's was attacked, yet despite all the evidence Fudge refused to acknowledge that Voldemort was back.

Percy made a life altering decision at that moment to not follow the path that he had once set out for himself. It was clear to him that Fudge and the others could not be trusted so he would need to gather as much evidence as possible against Fudge and those who were loyal to him. If he played his cards right he could one day replace them and would then right the wrongs that they had done.

* * *

' _Ginny, I know you want to be there to support me and there is nothing I would like more, but you have been told what Fudge said. I am not going to let you give them a chance to arrest you,_ ' Harry replied as they continued to argue about her attending the trial that morning.

' _He did this deliberately so we couldn't support you,_ ' replied Ginny angrily.

' _Yes, but you know that you can be there with me even if it isn't physically,_ ' Harry reminded her.

Ginny wasn't happy with the outcome of the discussion but she couldn't find fault Harry's logic or his desire to keep her safe. She decided that it wasn't worth fighting further with Harry as it would just cause more issues for the trial than he needed to deal with.

' _Please don't be angry with me,_ ' Harry said a moment later.

' _I'm not angry with you, Harry,_ ' replied Ginny before sending her love for him through the bond.

Ginny finished packing their stuff and sent it all to the Founders Study bedroom at Hogwarts, before heading down for breakfast with the others.

Meanwhile Harry sat in his cell and watched them enjoying their breakfast together as he enjoyed the food that Maxim has brought him. The guards had kept up the pretence of feeding Harry so not to arouse suspicions but knew he was being fed better by his own house elf.

The trial was set to start at eleven just as the Hogwarts express was to pull out of Kings Cross. As Ginny and the others left Potter Castle for Kings Cross Harry told her that he would see her soon. The guards then came to transfer Harry from Azkaban to the Ministry.

Harry was escorted into the court room and took his seat. The room was full of people dressed in long robes, some black and the rest red. Cornelius Fudge was sitting in the center seat looking down on Harry smugly.

Fudge slammed his hammer down loudly to get everyone attention before he addressed those present.

"Members of the Wizengamot, we are here today deal with the crimes committed by one Harry James Potter," Fudge said loudly.

"Harry James Potter, you are charged with the murder of Henry King Jester. Have you anything to say before we decide on the sentence?" asked Fudge.

"I admit that it was my curse that caused his death, but..." Harry started to say.

"I told you," shouted Fudge before Harry could continue. "He readily admits that he is responsible for the crimes."

"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, I was protecting my girlfriend Ginny Weasley at the time," replied Harry angrily.

"There was nothing to defend against," replied Fudge feeling confident. He had made sure that any evidence that had been gathered; disappeared before the trial began so it could not be used, this was the cause of the delay in having a date for his trial.

"He was carrying a knife that was covered in very rare and deadly venom. If he had succeeded in stabbing Ginny, she would be dead by now," replied Harry getting angrier by the second, it didn't escape the notice of Madam Bones or several others the amount of power flowing off of Harry as he spoke.

"Yet you are unable to produce any evidence of this, Mr. Potter," replied Fudge with a smirk.

"The Auror's took the knife after the attack in Diagon Alley," Harry told them.

"We have checked all the evidence that was collected from the scene of the attack and there isn't such a knife," Fudge told him.

"Member's of the Wizengamot as you have heard the defendant; Harry James Potter has admitted killing Mr. Jester. He has also not been able to provide any evidence to support his claim that Mr. Jester was attempting to attack Miss. Weasley. Therefore I believe we should consider the information provided, and pass sentence," Fudge told them confidently.

Before anyone could say anything Harry spoke up, "Madam Bones, I believe that under the current laws of the Wizengamot I am allowed to submit memories for review."

"Yes, Mr. Potter that is correct," Madam Bones replied with a smile.

"I would like to submit two memories for review," replied Harry.

Percy Weasley who had been recording the proceedings quickly disappeared and returned with a witness Pensieve.

"I will need my wand please," Harry announced.

"Mr. Weasley, please provide Mr. Potter with his wand," Madam Bones replied.

"I object to Mr. Potter having his wand, he is too dangerous," snapped Fudge.

"Minister Fudge, Mr. Potter is entitled to submit the memories and will need his wand to accomplish this," replied Madam Bones quickly before indicating to Percy to continue.

Percy passed the wand to Harry who was watched very closely by Fudge who had his hand on his wand the whole time. This caused Harry some amusement as he doubted Fudge would even be able to get a curse off before he was hit if he really wanted to do anything.

"Minister, do you honest believe I would attempt to escape from here when I am about to prove my innocence. If I had wanted to escape I wouldn't be standing here today," announced Harry as he pulled both of the memories out and placed them into the Pensieve. Once they were safely stored in the Pensieve Harry passed his wand back to Percy without any hesitation.

Fudge was about to say something about his comment but was stopped by Madam Bones. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. Mr. Weasley please can you setup the Pensieve so we can review the memories."

Everyone around the room was silent as Percy tapped the Pensieve twice and the memory started to play for all to see.

The first scene quickly unfolded before them, they could see Harry and Ginny battling the Dementors using their Patronuses. The scene changed as Harry quickly spun around and fired a stunner at Mr. Jester while pulling Ginny out of the way. Everyone could clearly see the knife in question. The scene changed again as the battle continued and they saw the terrible injury to Mrs. Weasley before the memory ended.

Moments later the second memory started showing the conversation between Harry and Dumbledore. They could clearly hear them talking about the knife and what was on it. Towards the end of the memory the saw the knife in an Auror evidence bag being handed to Fudge by Auror Chambers.

"Minister Fudge, it is clear from these memories that Mr. Potter is telling the truth about what happened," Madam Bones stated clearly annoyed. "Will you please explain why this evidence is not in court today?"

"Obviously these are false memories," Fudge replied but not as confident as before.

"Minister, you cannot serious be telling us that Mr. Potter faked those memories?" Madam Bones said.

"Of course he did, otherwise the evidence would be here today," replied Fudge whilst shifting nervously in his seat. This whole process was taking longer than it should and he was getting worried as the seeds of doubt had been sown.

Moments later Fawkes appeared in the court room with a very angry Dumbledore, he had been deliberately delayed by Umbridge who claimed to have important Ministry business to deal with regarding Hogwarts.

"Sorry I am late, Madam Bones, it seems that Minister Fudge requested his assistant to arrange an emergency meeting to stop me from being here today," he said angrily looking around the courtroom.

"How dare you accuse me like that" replied Fudge clearly upset that Dumbledore was here. "This trial has nothing to do with you anyway."

"It might be none of my business, but you have one of my students on trial for crimes he didn't commit," said Dumbledore the power flowing off of Dumbledore was just as impressive as the display they had seen from Harry not that long ago.

"That is where you are wrong, Dumbledore. Mr. Potter has already admitted to this court that his curse killed Mr. Jester and we have all seen it with our own eyes. He has been unable to produce the so call evidence of a knife," replied Fudge is confidence building again.

"How could he produce that evidence when it is hidden behind the cabinet in your office?" replied Dumbledore.

Suddenly all the color drained from Fudge's face, how could Dumbledore have known where it was. He had been very careful to ensure that no one saw him when he hid it.

There was silence in the court room again as everyone waited for Fudge to respond.

"I protest you have no evidence to support these charges. Madam Bones I request that Albus Dumbledore be arrested for defamation of character," announced Fudge hoping to kill two birds with one stone.

"We will take that request under advisement," replied Bones before turning to Percy. "Mr. Weasley, please can you and Auror Shacklebolt check the Minister's office for any hidden items and return with whatever you find, whether pertinent to this trial or not" Madam Bones announced.

"We will take a fifteen minute recess," she then announced before dismissing the members.

* * *

Percy and Kingsley quickly returned with the knife and several other items that they found in the Minister's office. They presented them to Madam Bones when the session started again.

"Minister Fudge, please can you explain why these items were found in your office. It is clear from the evidence submitted by Mr. Potter that this is the knife in question?" asked a very angry Madam Bones.

Fudge refused to answer clearly knowing that he had not only lost this case but would most likely be out of a job soon.

"Based on your lack of response your request to have Albus Dumbledore arrested is denied. In addition you are put on notice that a thorough investigation will be held on this matter and any charges deemed appropriate by this court will be brought against you," Madam Bones announced to the court.

"Mr. Potter, please accept the apologies of this court for what has happened here today and since you have been in Azkaban. The evidence clearly shows you reacted in self defense, and only with a simple Stunning Curse.

"To compensate for the time you have spent in Azkaban a total of five thousand Galleons will be paid to you. In addition based on the recommendation of Albus Dumbledore you and your friends will each be issued with an Underage Magic license which will allow you to perform magic outside of school," Madam Bones announced.

"Madam Bones, I would like to request that the money be put into a trust fund to help those of have suffered at the hands of Voldemort and his followers," announced Harry.

"Very well, Mr. Potter, who would you suggest to head up this trust?" asked Madam Bones.

"I would like to suggest Mrs. Weasley," replied Harry knowing this would piss off a number of the Purebloods.

"Very well, I will contact Mrs. Weasley immediately to set this up."

"That isn't possible at the moment, she was badly injured during the attack at Diagon Alley as you saw in the memory and still hasn't fully recovered," Harry told them.

"How could you possible know how she is doing," asked Fudge angrily.

"Mr. Fudge, Albus Dumbledore isn't the only person to be bonded with a Phoenix, as I said earlier if I wanted to escape then not even Azkaban could have held me. That should be evidence enough that I wasn't guilty. I have been very aware of what is has been going on in the Wizarding World since being locked up.

"Madam Bones, I believe if you review the other items presented to you by Mr. Weasley you will find several Auror recording devices showing the attack on St. Mungo's," Harry told them before leaving the court room with Albus Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley before anyone else could speak.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said as they walked towards the exit.

"You're welcome, Harry. I am sorry I wasn't here earlier but as you heard Umbridge tried to delay me," Dumbledore replied.

"I am just glad it is over and I can go home to Hogwarts," replied Harry happily.

"I would be happy to escort you," Dumbledore told him.

"Thank you, Professor," replied Harry for those who were listening. 'I am going to flash to the train and return with Ginny,' Harry projected to his mind.

Dumbledore nodded to acknowledge what Harry had told him, before disappearing with Fawkes.

He then turned to Arthur, "Thank you for your support today. I hope Molly won't be too angry with me for putting her as head of the trust fund."

"Don't worry about Molly, I think having something to do will help her immensely. She spends most of her time worrying about the rest of us," replied Arthur before hugging him and leaving too.

* * *

Ginny had been quietly listening to the trial though the bond as the train moved north. She had made sure to seal the compartment so that no one could disturb her and knew that Xavier was also keeping watch. The others had all disappeared knowing that she wanted to focus on the trial.

As the verdict was announced she jumped with joy and for the first time in several weeks was able to openly smile knowing that Harry would be back with her soon. They had been together but he wasn't free so it wasn't the same.

She decided to find her friends and give them the good news; unfortunately she wasn't concentrating on what was happened and ran into Malcolm Baddock, Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle outside her compartment.

"Well what do we have here," said Malcolm as he looked into the empty compartment and pushed her back inside.

"What do you want," she replied coldly.

"I think we want to finish what Draco Malfoy wasn't able to do last year," replied Malcolm while looking her up and down.

She shivered when she sensed the thoughts that were going though his mind, it was clear that he wasn't any good at Occlumency.

"What makes you think you will do any better than he did?" she asked mockingly.

"Well for starters you don't have you stupid boyfriend to protect you, I would imagine by now they have sentenced him to life in Azkaban," mocked Malcolm. "And unlike Draco I know how to get what I want."

He pointed his wand at her and shouted "Imperio." When nothing happened he tried again only to fail as well.

"Hmm, not working I see. It seems that you are just as incompetent as Draco," replied Ginny before laughing.

"Grab her, if that won't work then we will do it the old fashioned way," shouted Malcolm.

Crabbe and Goyle lunged forward but were stopped by a golden shield that appeared directly in front of Ginny.

"Will you never learn," asked Ginny as she watched the five of them attempt to destroy the shield with a number of different curses.

While they were attacking the shield a bright light filled the compartment and when it faded; Ginny wasn't alone as standing beside her was Harry.

"Sorry I am late," Harry said before kissing Ginny very passionately.

"Just in time actually, I was about to teach these insects a lesson," replied Ginny happily.

"Oh, I am sorry let me get out of the way then," Harry told her as he sat down in the corner.

The five Slytherin's had not moved since the light filled the compartment.

"Mind you it won't be very entertaining if they just stand there like idiots," continued Harry as they both watched the five of them.

"You just have to spoil all my fun," replied Ginny in mock outrage before settling down in his lap.

"What are we going to do with these idiots?" Harry asked after kissing her again.

With a wave of her wand Ginny vanished all their clothing except for their underwear and then took a picture of them before chasing them out of the compartment to howls of laughter from the large crowd that had gathered outside the compartment.

The journey to Hogwarts was rather uneventful after that and they soon arrived ready for a new term.

"Gin, where did you send their clothes," asked Hermione as she spotted a very angry Professor McGonagall standing at the station.

"Hmm, well I might have sent them directly to the Great Hall. And I may have accidentally sent all their other belongs as well so they couldn't get other clothes," replied Ginny as the others fell about laughing.

* * *

Amelia Bones returned to her office after the farce of a trail that has been orchestrated by Minister Fudge. She had a lot to think about, the whole affair was an embarrassment not only to the Wizengamot but the Wizarding World in general. Fudge's obsession with bringing charges against Harry Potter had blinded him to the impact it would have if he was proven innocent as he had been.

What concerned her more however was the fact that Fudge deliberately attempted to hide evidence that clearly proved that Harry was innocent, and as he claimed had only cast the Stunner to defend his girlfriend Ginny. And then when Percy Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt returned from the Minister's office they had found other items, some them would show what happened during the attack on St. Mungo's.

She planned to review the information once Kingsley arrived in her office; he was one of the very few Auror left that she trusted completely. He was also her second in command and had proven many times his complete dedication to the job.

The other thing that amazed her was the amount of power that was coming from Harry Potter during the trial, it very clear to her that he was just as powerful as Dumbledore if not more. The similarities between Harry and Dumbledore were remarkable, not only were they both bonded to a Phoenix but they both showed an amazing amount of control over their emotions and both had an incredible amount of power.

As she sat at her desk contemplating what had happened that morning Kingsley arrived at the office and took the offered seat. Kingsley knew they would be discussing what had happened and made sure to deactivate the tracking device on his badge before entering the room.

"Thank you for coming, Kingsley," Amelia said as he sat down.

"No problem, after what happened this morning I wanted to talk to you anyway," replied Kingsley.

"I can understand that, it seems that our Minister has a lot to explain. I believe that you already know what is contained on these recording orbs, and after what I saw this morning I can understand why Fudge would want this hidden away."

"Yes, he claimed that because Tonks made the recordings they were not valid and confiscated them. We should have foreseen this but it was too late to stop him from doing anything without giving away too much," Kingsley told her as he took the orb and started the playback for her to see.

They sat and watched the events the transpired during the attack, Amelia was stunned to see the Death Eater take the curse that was aimed at Dumbledore. She was even more amazed when the young man appeared and dueled with Voldemort and quite easily defeated him in the end. If it hadn't been for the Death Eaters they most likely would have captured Voldemort.

"Who was that?" asked Amelia after the recording had finished.

Kingsley was sure that he could trust Amelia but knew that he could not reveal that it was Harry Potter who had been involved. He knew he would have to lie to his long time friend, colleague and boss; but vowed to explain everything if the truth was ever revealed to her. He would also speak to Harry when he next had a chance.

"We have no idea, he appeared as you saw suddenly and then he disappeared soon after the battle was over."

"Surely we have some ideas? There cannot be too many people who could do that!"

"We do have one idea but we have witnesses who put him at a different location at the time of the battle so we are not able to prove it. However there are only a couple of people who I have ever seen with that much power and we saw two of them today. As one of them was lying on the ground unconscious we know it wasn't him."

Shacklebolt noticed Amelia face as she realized who he was talking about and clearly indicated to her not say anything.

"Now we have to decide what we should reveal to the public and how to go about it. They need to know that Voldemort has returned but we cannot go against the standing orders of the Minister. It seems that our dear Minister has been planning this out for a long time. I recently received reports of several changes to the law that he attached to other legislation that effectively mean we cannot prosecute him or remove him from office until his term is over or he is dead, or proven to have broken the law.

"I have already advised the senior members of the Wizengamot who we can trust to review every detail of future laws to ensure that no other changes are made. In the mean time I would like you to lead the investigation into the activities of Fudge and put together the evidence so we can present them if the chance arises," Amelia explained.

"Amelia, I have a contact who has already gather quite a lot of information about the activities of our Minister. I cannot reveal the details or who the contact is but I will talk with him and advise him of this investigation. However based on what you have said I don't see what we can do to stop the Minister?"

"Kingsley, have you ever researched the ancient laws of the Wizarding World?"

"Not fully, we did the basic research during Auror training but nothing going back that many years," replied Kingsley.

"I have spent a number of years researching and there is something that can be done, unfortunately we don't know if there is anyone alive that can activate it and have no clue where to even start looking," explained Amelia without revealing too much.

"I will complete the investigation as soon as possible and will speak with my contact and let you know what they say," replied Kingsley as he got up to leave the office.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

The students finally made their way into the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast, they had all watched in amusement as Professor McGonagall marched the five students off the train in their underwear up to the castle so they could put their robes on. Once she had been told by the prefects on duty what had transpired on the train she conjured robes for each of them so they could cover themselves and then ordered them to go directly to their common room. She also told them they were not to attend the Welcoming Feast and a small meal would be provided for them in their common room.

Once the five of them left with two Slytherin seventh year prefects, Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ginny.

"Miss Weasley, due to the circumstances I will not punish you this time, however I will not allow this type of thing to happen again. If I find out you were involved I will punish you. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Professor," replied Ginny.

"Thank you, oh and ten points to Gryffindor for the amazing spell work," McGonagall said quietly so only Harry and Ginny could hear.

"It's good to see you back as well Mr. Potter," she told him happily, before walking back to the castle.

Once the sorting had been completed they all enjoyed as usual a delicious meal before Professor Dumbledore stood to address the hall.

"Welcome back to another new year at Hogwarts, before we retire for the evening I have a few notices.

"First years, and all those who seem to have forgotten, the Forbidden Forest is called that for a reason, anyone found wandering inside of it will be punished. In addition a list of all the banned items is displayed on Mr. Filch's door. May I also remind you that magic is not to be performed in the corridors.

"As most of you know Mr. Harry Potter was put on trial this morning. I am pleased to report that he has been cleared of all charges.

"Now I am pleased to announce the return of Professor Grubbly-Plank who will be filling in for Professor Hagrid while he is away.

"As many of you have noticed our former Potions Professor is no longer with us..."

A loud cheer was heard from three of the tables, Dumbledore knew Severus was unpopular but never realized it was this bad. The happiness soon disappeared however when a large flash of light filled the room and an image of the memorial stone appeared above the Professor's table.

"It is with great sadness that I announce that he was killed this summer, you should all know that he sacrificed his life to save mine. If I hear one bad word said against him then the person who said it will be severely punished. Do I make myself clear?" finished Dumbledore angrily.

Everyone who had cheered looked down in shame at what they had done. The Slytherin's who didn't support Voldemort held their heads high to show their pride in what he had done.

"I am therefore please to announce that another former Professor has agreed to return to teach Potions, Professor Slughorn will also be the new head of Slytherin house."

"Finally we also welcome Professor Umbridge who will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Before Dumbledore could continue Professor Umbridge stood and approached the Podium.

She then proceeded to drone on about how the school needed to address several issues. How she was certain they would all be good friends, which amused The New Marauders to no end.

After five minutes of complete boredom Ginny suddenly decided to stir things up a little. She wandlessly produced a very large copy of the picture of the five Slytherin students in their underwear and caused it to float above Umbridge.

The hall dissolved into fits of laughter again upon seeing the picture floating above her head. Several of the teachers had coughing fits as they tried to hide their own laughter as Umbridge tried desperately to finish her speech and remove the floating object above her head at the same time.

Finally Professor Dumbledore approached the podium after having removed the picture and addressed the hall once again.

"Thank you, Professor that was most illuminating," he said while hiding his smile.

"All that remains for me is to wish you all a good night," Dumbledore told them.

Everyone could see that Umbridge was enraged that Dumbledore had not addressed the prank that had been played on her.

The students quickly disappeared off to their rooms laughing all the way.

As Ginny and Harry were leaving Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis approached them and asked to talk with them in private.

Harry led them into an empty classroom making sure that no one else saw them leaving by casting a Confundus charm on the corridor. Once they were in the room he sealed it and placed a number of privacy charms to stop anyone from hearing what was said.

Harry had already seen their intentions when they approached and knew they could be trusted. This was the perfect opportunity to start bridging the division between Slytherin house and the others.

"We heard what happened on the train and wanted to warn you that they are not happy with what happened and they are out for revenge," Blaise said once Harry had finished.

"Personally I thought that Ginny let them off lightly for what they had planned to do," replied Harry.

"That's what we thought too, however they did not take kindly to being humiliated like that," Daphne told them with some amusement.

"I was more worried about the other student's having to see them like that," joked Ginny causing the others to snigger at the thought.

"Anyway, unlike some in our house we don't believe in what Voldemort is doing. There are not enough of us yet to make a stand against those who fully do support him but there are more of us than people would suspect," Blaise announced.

"I will be honest with all of you; I am a master Legilimens and knew of your intentions and loyalties before coming in the room. I didn't intrude on any of your personal thoughts but it was enough for me to know if I could trust you or not. I am sorry if you are offended by this action but I cannot take any risks.

"Despite what the Ministry has been saying Voldemort has returned, he is currently recovering from the attack on St. Mungo's that cost Severus his life.

"I do have some information that may help you to convince others to join you. The man known as Lord Voldemort was once a student here at Hogwarts by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle. What isn't commonly known however was the fact that his father was a Muggle."

"You mean that Voldemort is a half-blood," shouted the three Slytherin's at the same time.

"Yes, the self proclaimed Dark Lord, champion of pureblood supremacy is indeed a half-blood. As further proof of what this you will find if you rearrange the letters of his name it spells ' _I am Lord Voldemort_ '".

Harry then handed them a Goblin identification parchment that clearly showed the true heritage of Tom Riddle, it was well known in the Wizarding World that these could not be faked.

Harry had been able to get some of Voldemort's blood during the battle at the graveyard before he flashed away and using his Phoenix magic was able to preserve it. With the help of Griphook he produced a number of copies of the Identification parchment. The Goblin's kept one for themselves, one was placed in Harry's vault, while Harry took the others with him.

"I believe this should be the all the proof you need to show those you can trust that you are telling the truth."

The five students talked for a while longer before realizing that if they didn't leave soon people would get miss curfew. The three Slytherin students left once Harry unsealed the door, to avoid any chance that someone saw them with the two Gryffindors, Harry and Ginny flashed directly to their room in the Founders study.

Harry and Ginny spent the next several hours in their bed making up for all the time they had lost due to Harry being in Azkaban. They finally feel asleep early the next morning well and truly satisfied.

* * *

The next morning Harry made his way down to breakfast, Ginny wanted to talk with Hermione privately so she stayed in the common room waiting for her. He prepared a plate of food for all three and waited for them to appear. As he was looking around the hall he was surprised to find Ron Weasley standing in front of him.

"Harry, I want to apologize for what happened last year," Ron told him quietly.

Harry looked at him carefully before responding, he could sense the regret and guilt over what he had done. "I'm sorry, Ron, but I cannot accept your apology until you have spoken to Ginny. What you did to her last year was inexcusable and until she is ready to forgive you I can't either."

Ron looked sadly at Harry but understood what he was saying.

He slowly walked back to the Gryffindor table and sat with the other fourth year boys; he hadn't made friends with any of them yet and felt alone, since all of them knew what he did to both Harry and Ginny when they were at school.

Hermione and Ginny entered the hall a few minutes later deep in discussion.

"So Fred gave you a promise ring?" Ginny asked in excitement.

"Yes," Hermione said showing her the ring.

"Oh, this is so exciting," replied Ginny as she walked up to Harry and kissed him deeply.

Harry congratulated Hermione when they sat down at the table. They continued to talk as Fred and George walked into the Great Hall, as soon as they settled down at the table Ginny congratulated Fred and they had a small celebration.

None of them noticed the tears running down Ron's face as he overheard the news, he knew that he has screwed up any chance of Hermione liking him after what he had done but that didn't mean he didn't regret it and still had feelings for her. However he promised himself that he would not interfere in any way as he had already done enough damage to his family and didn't want to be responsible for any more.

The rest of the morning flew past as they all settled quickly back into their regular routine; classes were boring for all of them as they had basically finished all their NEWT work during the summer. Due to the rules at Hogwarts they were not allowed to take their exams early, so had to suffer a whole year of boredom as they were required to attend the classes in order to sit the exams. At least they would be able to practice in private in the Founders Study and would be making good use of it.

After lunch they had their first Defence Against the Dark Arts class, they were not looking forward to this one bit, not only were they more advanced in Defence than any other subject but they knew what had been planned for the classes. They quietly made their way into the room and sat down getting their books, parchment and wands out ready.

A few minutes later Professor Umbridge walked into the class room and greeted them.

"Good afternoon," Umbridge said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Good afternoon," they all replied quietly.

She pointed her wand at the board and start spelling out "Ordinary Wizarding Level" while clearly pronouncing each word.

"Your education in Defence has been sloppy and unstructured for the last four years. This year you will be following a Ministry approved curriculum. There will be no need for wands, as you will only be learning the theory for casting the spells," Umbridge told them.

"We won't be practicing," said Hermione acting surprised.

"What good is that," added Harry as they had practiced.

"There is no need to practice the spells, having a good understand of them is all that is needed for your OWLs," Umbridge replied angrily at having been interrupted.

She completely ignored the raised hands in the classroom as she passed out the new books they would be using.

"Professor, if we are not allowed to practice, how are we supposed to successfully defend ourselves or what will we do on the practical part of the exam?" asked Hermione.

"You are in a safe environment here, there is nothing to defend yourselves against, as for the exams as long as you learn the theory then you will be able to perform the spells," replied Umbridge calmly.

"But, Professor, if we are out there it isn't always going to be a safe environment," protested Harry.

"And who do you suppose would want to attack children?" asked Umbridge.

"I don't know, Voldemort maybe?" mocked Harry.

There were a number of gasps from the students as Harry said his name. Umbridge stopped what she was doing and slowly faced the students.

"You have been told that He-who-must-not-be-named has returned, this is a lie," Umbridge announced.

"No it's not, I have battled him since he returned," shouted Harry not caring what happened at this point.

"Detention, Mr. Potter," Umbridge told him.

"As I was saying, he has not returned and any further discussion on this matter will result in a months worth of detentions," said Umbridge firmly.

"Now you will all start reading chapter one, four times over for maximum memory retention," she told them as she sat down at her desk and drank her tea.

Ten minutes later Harry and Ginny had completely read the whole book and were sitting quietly talking to each other in their minds. Harry was watching Umbridge closely as they talked so that she would not catch them.

' _You know, she looks like a bloody ugly toad,_ ' Harry suddenly said.

' _What?_ ' replied Ginny before looking through his eyes.

' _Oh, I see what you mean, why the hell does she wear that bow on her head it doesn't exactly help her,_ ' continued Ginny trying not to laugh.

' _I think, my love, that we need to teach her a lesson,_ ' Harry added.

' _Hmm, I like how you think. Actually there are a lot of things I like about you, Mr. Potter,_ ' she said very seductively.

' _Don't you dare start that again, Mrs. Potter,_ ' replied Harry before she could start.

' _You spoil all my fun,_ ' Ginny said in mock outrage.

Harry careful waved his hand towards the blackboard causing the writing to change to read "I like to sleep on water lilies, and I like to eat flies while I wait for my Prince Charming."

Ginny had to cough in order to hide her laughter as the writing appeared. Several minutes pasted before anyone noticed the writing had changed, slowly one by one, the students around the room slowly looked up and struggled to keep there composure as they read the writing.

Ten minutes later Dean Thomas finally lost the battle and collapsed into fits of laughter causing most of the others in the room to follow suit.

"What's going on," shouted Umbridge when the whole class was laughing.

Malcolm Baddock put his hand up to respond.

"Yes Mr. Baddock," she asked as the others started to calm down.

"The writing on the blackboard has changed," he told her.

She span around and quickly changed it back to the instructions for the class.

"Everyone out with their wands now," she told them.

' _That's not very appropriate request to make, some of us don't have wands,_ ' said Ginny to Harry's mind causing him to snort with more laughter.

The students quickly placed their wands on their desks and she proceeded to using 'Prior Incantum' on each one. A very frustrated Umbridge returned to her seat ten minutes later, after having checked every wand and not finding any that had cast a spell to change the writing.

The students settled down again and continued to read, a few minutes later Harry again waved his hand and the writing on the board changed again to say, "I love chocolate-covered flies. Ten house points to anyone who brings me a bag. (1)"

This time Malcolm Baddock had been watching Harry closely and noticed him wave his hand before the writing changed. He thought that he had his wand hidden under the table and wanted to get him in trouble.

"Professor, Harry Potter changed the writing again," he said confidently.

This caused everyone in the room to look up at the board and once again burst out in laughter at what was written there.

"Mr. Potter, please bring me your wand immediately," shouted Umbridge.

Harry calmly stood from his seat and presented his wand to Umbridge; she again checked it and found nothing.

"Mr. Baddock, please bring me your wand," Umbridge said angrily.

He stood up confidently and strode to the front of the classroom presenting his wand to Umbridge. His confidence suddenly disappeared when she cast the 'Prior Incantum' on his wand and it clearly showed that it had cast the spell to change the writing.

"Detention, Mr. Baddock and twenty five points from Slytherin for lying," Umbridge announced.

"You will both report to my office at seven this evening," she told them before dismissing the class.

"How the hell did you do that," Baddock said as they walked back to their seats.

"I didn't do anything," replied Harry. It wasn't a lie, as Ginny had been the one to place the fake spell on his wand. They had learned how to do this from the memories Merlin gave them and planned to put it to good use.

As soon as they were outside the classroom Harry kissed her deeply. He quickly checked for the presence of other people before flashed them both to the Founders Study so they could collapse with laughter.

* * *

At exactly seven o'clock Harry knocked on the door to Professor Umbridge's office.

"Enter," said the squeaky voice of Umbridge. "Good evening, Mr. Potter, at least you were on time this evening. You will be writing lines for me, please take a seat."

Harry sat down at one of the desks in her office and started to get his quill and ink out.

"You won't need those, Mr. Potter. You will be using a special quill of mine this evening," Umbridge told him as she handed it to him.

Harry knew immediately what the Quill was and knew they were illegal; this would be yet another item to add to the growing list of grievances against the Ministry.

"Now I want you to write, 'I must not tell lies'."

"You didn't give me any ink, Professor," Harry told her knowing perfectly well that he didn't need any but wanted to see her reaction.

"You won't need any, Mr. Potter," replied Umbridge with a smirk.

"How many times should I write it?" asked Harry looking confused.

"As many times as it takes for it to sink in, Mr. Potter."

Harry started to write on the paper and he could feel the dark magic scratching his hand and drawing blood as he wrote. He quickly masked the pain using his Phoenix magic so that he could continue to write without it causing him any problems. He was not going to let Umbridge win this battle.

He could already feel Ginny's wrath at what was happening. As soon as she realized what was happening she disappeared to their room in the Founders Study so that the others would not see her pacing.

' _Harry, why are you letting her do this? We both know they are illegal, we could have her out of Hogwarts in a minute,_ ' Ginny told him.

' _Don't worry Gin, I have no intention of letting her win this one,_ ' replied Harry while already plotting how they would get her back.

' _Hmm, I can't wait to get even with her,_ ' replied Ginny as she saw Harry's plan.

Fifteen minutes later Malcolm Baddock finally arrived for detention escorted by Professor Slughorn.

"Professor Umbridge, sorry Mr. Baddock is late for detention. Unfortunately he decided to cause trouble in Potions today and had to finish cleaning up," Slughorn told her.

Harry made sure that Slughorn couldn't see the quill that he was using because he didn't want him to stir any trouble until they were ready.

"I see you have, Mr. Potter in for detention," commented Slughorn. "I am surprised to see him here."

"He was lying in class," replied Umbridge.

"Well I will expect to see, Mr. Baddock in time for curfew. Good evening Professor," Slughorn responded before leaving the room.

The evening progressed slowly for both of the students; the occasional moan could be heard coming from Baddock as the blood quill cut into his skin. Harry didn't even care any longer as the Phoenix Magic was completing masking it.

"I hope you have both learned your lesson this evening," Umbridge told them a minute before curfew. She dismissed them just as curfew smirking because of the additional detention they would get for being late back.

Both students raced out of the classroom and headed to their common rooms, as soon as Harry rounded the corner and was out of sight of Baddock he flashed to the portrait door startling the Fat Lady and walked in with two seconds to spare.

"Sorry, Professor, Umbridge kept us until the last moment," Harry told her pretending to be out of breath.

"That's Professor Umbridge, Mr. Potter," replied Professor McGonagall curtly.

"Sorry, Professor," replied Harry not meaning it at all.

"Why did you have detention on the first day, Mr. Potter?"

"Because I decided to tell the truth in class," replied Harry.

"What do you mean?" she asked unhappy with the reply.

"I said that Voldemort had returned and we should be learning to defend ourselves in DADA. She told us that I was lying and then proceeded to give me detention," Harry told her honestly.

Professor McGonagall stormed out of the common room a moment later.

Harry collapsed onto the couch in front of the fire and snuggled close to Ginny. She dropped a couple of Phoenix tears on the wound, caused by the blood quill, completely healing it and leaving no trace of what had happened.

' _Thank you, baby,_ ' Harry told her.

' _Your welcome, Harry, I love you too much to see you injured by that cow,_ ' replied Ginny.

' _I thought she was a toad?_ ' joked Harry.

' _More like a bitch,_ ' spat Ginny before laughing. ' _Hmm, I think that name fits perfect, Professor Umbitch._ '

Harry laughed out loud at that comment earning him several strange stares.

Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the evening cuddling on the couch; they had already completed their homework. They were so far ahead in their studies that they were able to complete the homework almost as soon as it was assigned. In fact they had spoken to several of their teachers requesting that they give them the homework assignment at the start of the lesson so they could finish it during class. They still contributed fully during the lesson so no one was aware of what they were doing.

Once everyone had gone to bed Harry and Ginny flashed to their bedroom and fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

The next morning Katie Bell published the details for the Quidditch tryouts on the common room notice board much to the delight of the students. They were all whispering excitedly trying to determine who would make the team and what their chances were this year.

Of course all those who had been at Potter Castle over the summer knew they had a very good chance of winning it by a huge margin.

All those who were interested were told to meet down at the Quidditch pitch on Saturday morning immediately following breakfast.

Ron decided that he would try out for the Keeper position; he had been allowed to spend some time practicing over the summer once he told his parents that he would apologize to Harry and Ginny for what he had done.

* * *

Later that day Harry and Ginny had their first Potions lesson with Professor Slughorn, they didn't know much about the Professor except that he was a long time friend of Dumbledore and used to be a Professor.

They quietly entered the Potions classroom and immediately noticed the difference, the classroom was much brighter than usual, the walls were covered with moving diagrams that showed how to chop up various ingredients, and on each of the desks was a book called 'The Art of Potion Making'.

"Good afternoon, I am Professor Slughorn."

"Good afternoon," the students responded.

"Unfortunately your former Professor didn't keep any notes on what you have studied, therefore today we will have a quiz to determine what you already know," Slughorn explained.

Slughorn passed out the quiz to each of the students and then allowed them half an hour to complete it. He slowly moved to the front of room stopping a various desks on the way, unlike Snape however he didn't make any comments just reviewed their answers and moved on.

"Excellent, I see that most of you have finished, for the rest of this lesson we are going to study the book on your desks. Hopefully most of you know this already but based on some of the answers I saw I am not certain that you do," Slughorn told them.

Harry and Ginny had already finished the book, thanks to their ability to memorize everything they read, they were carefully watching the other students while reviewing the contents of the book.

Most of the students were obviously learning as they each had parchments out and were taking notes. The only students that refused to do anything other than stare at the book were Malcolm and his friends. They obviously thought that learning Potions was a waste of time.

' _If only they knew how much Voldemort depended on Potions,_ ' Harry said to Ginny as they watched the idiots.

' _Maybe that was why Snape was such a bad teacher, he didn't want any of them to be able to help Voldemort,_ ' replied Ginny suddenly.

' _You know what, that is bloody clever,_ ' replied Harry in amazement.

' _I'm not just a pretty face,_ ' Ginny stated at his response.

' _No, you are far more than just a pretty face,_ ' Harry told her as he sent all the love he felt for her through the bond.

' _I love you too,_ ' Ginny eventually responded once the raw emotions from Harry had ebbed away a little.

By the end of the lesson most of the students had learned more about Potion making and the subtle changes that could be made than they had ever learned under Snape's lessons. They were actually looking forward to the next lesson and what else they could learn from Professor Slughorn.

* * *

The next day they had another DADA lesson with Professor Umbridge and were all waiting in the classroom when she walked in from her office. On the desk at the front of the classroom where two large bags of chocolate covered flies. No one was sure who had placed them there but were looking forward to seeing her reaction to them.

When Umbridge spotted the bags on her desk she instantly looked up at Harry and he could feel a very week attempt to access his mind. She soon gave up when she realized that she would never be able to break through his shields.

"When I find out who did this they are going to get a weeks detention and a loss of one hundred house points," she told them with a nasty sneer.

Umbridge waved her wand over the bags and quietly said an incantation that Harry recognized from Merlin's memories. It was a trace spell that would point back to the last person to touch the bag. Suddenly Crabbe and Goyle jumped out of their seats as though they had been stung.

"Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle, can you explain, why you were the last people to touch these bags?" Umbridge asked them looking very upset.

"We have never seen those bags before, Professor," replied Crabbe suddenly looking scared.

"The evidence clearly indicates that you are lying to me," replied Umbridge.

"You will both serve one week detention with me and are docked one hundred house points each," she told them before continuing with the lesson.

"The instructions are on the board, and before you get any further ideas, Mr. Baddock the board has been charms to only allow me to change the writing," Umbridge told them.

All the members of The New Marauders were pretending to be reading their books while actually plotting ways to get back at Umbridge for the blood quill even though it had not done any really damage to Harry.

Harry and Ginny were deep in thought when Umbridge suddenly stood up and asked Harry a question.

"Mr. Potter, as you seem to have finished the reading for today please can you tell me what is says on page fifteen of the book?" Umbridge asked.

Harry quickly found the page in their mind and read it back word for word. This annoyed Umbridge a great deal as she wanted another detention with Harry. It was all part of her plan to deal with him for her Master.

"Please come to the front of the room so we can determine if you cheated," Umbridge told him.

Harry walked up to the front and waited for her to ask another question.

"Please can you tell me what page ninety seven says," asked Umbridge.

"We haven't read that far yet, Professor," replied Harry.

"You didn't think to read ahead when you finished reading the assigned chapters?" replied Umbridge.

"No, Professor, I followed your instructions to the letter," Harry told her with a smile.

"Detention this evening, Mr. Potter," Umbridge announced.

Harry was livid; he had done nothing wrong this time. He knew there was no point going to Professor Dumbledore as Umbridge would just go to Fudge.

"Yes, Professor," replied Harry as he returned to his seat. He quietly sat down and watched Umbridge as she returned to her desk.

Just as she sat down he wandlessly moved her seat to the left, causing her to crash to the ground, with a squeal that sounded like a pig. Most of the students just howled with laughter as they watched her struggle back to her feet. Without saying a word she attempted to sit down again purposely keeping an eye on her chair to ensure it didn't move again.

Unfortunately she didn't keep an eye on the bottle of ink that had been on her desk and was now floating above her head. Just as she got comfortable in the chair it tipped upside down spilling all over her. Again the students burst into laughter; they had all given up reading the book and were watching her with amusement.

Harry continued to torment her for the rest of the lesson, as it was all done wandlessly she could not trace it back to anyone and she became very frustrated. She was very nervous by the end of the lesson and was looking over her shoulder the whole time to make sure nothing else happened.

The rest of the day was uneventful the lessons passed quickly, at dinner that evening Ginny wandlessly transformed Umbridge's cutlery into toads which immediately started to attack her. Quiet sniggers were heard around the hall as the toads attacked Umbridge, as the attack continued Professor Umbridge was chased out of the hall, causing everyone to burst into riotous laughter.

"Attention," Professor Dumbledore said. "While I cannot condone the attack on, Professor Umbridge, I would like to congratulate whoever transfigured the cutlery as it was a very skilful transfiguration."

Everyone was speechless, it was not a secret that Professor Dumbledore didn't like Umbridge but to openly congratulate someone for pranking a Professor seemed like a recipe for disaster.

"However if I catch the person responsible they will be punished," continued Professor Dumbledore before anyone planned to prank any of the other Professor's.

Professor Dumbledore already knew there were only a few people in the Great Hall capable of doing that level of transfiguration, two of who could also perform wandless and wordless magic. He also knew that checking each of the wands of the students in the hall would be useless.

"Now I wish you all a pleasant evening," Dumbledore said as the desserts appeared on the table.

* * *

Early the next morning Harry felt pulled into the mind of Voldemort again, they quietly opened the door proceeding carefully. What they found amazed them, it looked like a bomb had exploded inside his mind.

' _Bloody hell,_ ' said Harry.

' _I can't believe how much damage he suffered,_ ' added Ginny.

' _This is strange, it doesn't seem like he is awake yet. I wonder why we were pulled into his mind,_ ' Harry said as they proceeded to their normal spot for observing.

' _We need to be cautious, what if he has somehow found out that we have access to his mind,_ ' replied Ginny in a worried tone.

' _I don't think that is it, I think someone summoned the Death Eaters using his Dark Mark but I agree with needing to be cautious,_ ' Harry told her as they could hear what was going on but not see anything.

They could hear several voices but were not able to recognize any of them. They settled down to listen and then planned to search around Voldemort's mind while they had the chance.

"Friends, have we discovered who did this to our Lord?" asked one of the voices.

"No, we have spoken with several people and they all believe that it was Potter, however our spy at Azkaban has confirmed that he never left his cell that day. We did however learn some interesting things about Potter. It seems that something was protecting his cell, the Dementors would not go anywhere near it the whole time while he was there. Also we have reports that Potter was allowed visitors on a regular basis even though the Minister signed that executive order that indicated the contrary," replied another of the Death Eaters.

Harry made a note of this information, it would seem that someone was passing information out of Azkaban and as none of the Death Eaters had been near his cell then it would seem that one of the guards was working for Voldemort. This could only mean they were planning something.

"We have a bigger problem than worrying about Potter at the moment, I have done everything I can to stabilise our Lord but it isn't enough. We need to find out what happened to Snape as he is the only one that our Lord trusted with creating potions," replied the first Death Eater again.

"Then we have a serious problem, Snape was the one that betrayed our Lord and saved Dumbledore's life. They held a memorial service for him recently and have already hired a new Potions Professor for Hogwarts, an old friend of Dumbledore's who is a strong supporter of the old man," said another of the Death Eaters.

It seemed that there were more spies for Voldemort than Harry realized, as only the Professor's and a few others knew about the service and Slughorn's appointment.

"It appears that our Lord has taken steps to ensure his survival even in such dire circumstances. Nagini has shown me a secret room that contains information on what the Dark Lord has done. The information is well protected and will take time to break through and research but it seems that this will be our only hope. In order to do this however we are going to have to get our friends out of Azkaban," announced the first Death Eater.

"I want each of you to start planning how we can achieve this, report back when you have something," he finished before dismissing them.

Harry and Ginny spent some time searching through Voldemort's mind for information on the Horcruxes but were not able to find much that would help them. They were able to determine that one of them was a Ring that belonged to his mother's family. It seemed the Voldemort had hidden them very well or more likely had removed the details of where they were stored even from his own mind.

As soon as they returned from his mind they flashed to Professor Dumbledore office to report what they had learned.

"Professor," Harry said as they arrived.

"What going on?" asked Dumbledore who was a little startled at there sudden appearance.

"It seems that one of the Death Eaters has taken command while Tom is unconscious. He spoke with several others today. They have at least one spy in Azkaban and also another one here, they knew about the memorial service and the fact that you have hired Professor Slughorn," Harry told him once they settled into the seats he had offered.

"That is indeed concerning," replied Dumbledore the sparkle in his eye's gone.

"It seems that the knowledge we are looking for is stored somewhere in Tom's hideout. We searched his mind after the meeting and were only able to determine that one of the Horcruxes was made using an old Gaunt family ring. The information about its location and protections was nowhere to be found.

"The main Death Eater did say that Nagini had led him to a room that contained well protected information. They are planning to get more of the Death Eaters out of Azkaban to help with the research and breaking through the protections around the information.

"So we know what another of the Horcruxes is but not where to find it, and they are planning something with Azkaban," summarized Dumbledore.

"Now we just need to see if we can get to the ring before the Death Eaters, what do you know about the Gaunt family history?" added Dumbledore.

"Not much, to be honest," replied Harry.

"I know a little, I will do some research and then we will need to decide how to proceed," Dumbledore told them before dismissing them so he could think.

* * *

Before they knew it Saturday had arrived and they had the Quidditch tryouts, Katie had the whole team on the pitch early so they could warm up before the others arrived.

"Now remember we want to push them hard today, we need to be certain that whoever we select is going to be up to the task," Katie told them as they finished warming up.

"Yes Captain," they all replied before giving her a mock salute.

"For that you can do two laps of the pitch," shouted Katie, as they were about to take off on their brooms again she added "on foot."

They all groaned but because of there regular training quickly completed the punishment as they comfortably cruised around. As they started on their second lap the hopefuls all turned up and watched them.

"Now everyone, you need to understand that being able to run around the pitch at least once as these guys just did is a part of the training. Before we start the try out I want each one of your to complete a lap," Katie announced.

Harry and Ginny set of again on another lap at a slower pace to allow all the recruits to keep up; they were pleased to see that a number of their closer friends were at least able to complete the course even if it was a slow painful process.

Once they started arriving back Katie found out what position they were interested in and then directed them where to go for the try out.

Three people tried out for the Seeker position, Harry started them off slowly to gauge their skills and then using golf balls just as Oliver Wood had in his first year started testing them. Twenty minutes later there was only one left, and showed a lot of promise. As a final test Harry released an actual Snitch and then spent the next twenty minutes competing one on one with Justin Maxwell.

"Well done Justin, I will recommend to Katie that you be placed on the reserve team. If you want to keep your place then you need to make sure you start running regularly," Harry told him.

"Thanks, Harry, it was fun to play against you," Justin said happily as he set back to the castle.

The other players had used similar tactics when assessing the hopefuls, and only actually tested the ones that had shown the most promise. Despite all this it was still a very frustrating and slow process. Three hours later Katie Bell was feeling very depressed.

"Calm down, Katie, there were a couple of potentials," said George before kissing her.

"I know but there were a lot more who were no where near," she replied.

"Well technically we only need one Chaser and I think that it is between Dean Thomas and Andrew Kirke," said Ginny.

They spent the next hour talking about the two options and in the end elected to give Andrew the starting position but also asked Dean to join as a reserve.

The team slowly made their way back to the castle talking about some of those who had come down to try out. Some had not even made it around the track at the start; in fact two didn't even bother trying as soon as they heard about the run they walked back complaining about having to work out.

"Can you believe that they expected to make the team without doing any work?" said Ginny.

"You would think that they had never heard of Oliver Wood," replied George in a laugh.

As they got closer to the castle Harry noticed someone in the shadows watching them, he couldn't tell who it was, but didn't like how they were acting.

' _Gin, there is someone following us,_ ' Harry said through the bond.

' _I saw, any idea who it is?_ '

' _No, they are staying in the shadows. I am going to reach out with my Phoenix abilities to see who it could be,_ ' Harry said as they continued to walk.

Harry had never used his Phoenix magic like this; while he was in movement so wasn't sure what would happen. Thankfully his arm had been linked to Ginny's so if anything happened she would be able to guide him without making it obvious that something strange was happening.

Harry was surprised to see that Cho Chang was the person following them, he thought after what had happened in Diagon Alley and her intimate time with the bats she would have left them well alone but obviously not.

Suddenly the group heard a load scream coming from the shadows near the castle and watched in amusement as a girl went rushing into the castle being attacked by a large group of bats.

' _You're bloody scary,_ ' said Harry through the bond so as not to give away their secret. Being able to perform wandless and wordless magic definitely had advantages. For one no one could punish them as there would never be evidence.

' _Why thank you, Mr. Potter,_ ' replied Ginny with a very satisfied smirk.

The group finally made it into the castle only to be confronted by a very angry Professor McGonagall.

"Can any of you explain why Miss Chang just rushed into the castle while being attacked by bats?" she asked while looking directly at Ginny.

"Sorry, Professor, we didn't see anything. We were approaching the castle when we suddenly heard a scream and then saw someone run into the main doors," replied Ginny politely.

McGonagall didn't believe her for one second, it was common knowledge that this was Ginny's favourite curse and that not many other people even know how to cast it. She knew that she would have to check their wands and just hoped that they had not been silly enough to leave any evidence.

"Then I assume you will not have a problem with me checking your wands?" she asked although it wasn't really an option.

They quickly handed over their wands and a few minutes later a very frustrated McGonagall walked off grumbling.

Harry and Ginny had a feeling they had not seen the last of Chang.

 _A/N: Some of the backboard quotes were submitted on my yahoo group and I promised to acknowledge the author's here._

 _(1) - Bertie, thank you for the brilliant quote._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Later that day Harry and Ginny, were sitting in the Great Hall enjoying dinner when Fawkes arrived with a message from Dumbledore requesting a meeting with them once they had finished eating.

Harry told Fawkes they would be there and continued talking to their friends.

As they made their way to his office they suspected it was related to the incident with Cho Chang.

As they approached the Gargoyle it jumped out of the way to allow them access to Dumbledore's office, once at the top of the stairs they knocked on the door and waited patiently.

"Enter," came the voice of Dumbledore.

"Thank you for coming, would either of you care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore said as they sat down.

"You're welcome, Professor, and no thank you" they replied.

"I am sure you know why I asked you to come?" asked Dumbledore with a smile.

"It seems that Miss Chang had an unfortunate incident with some bats this afternoon and we have not been able to stop them from attacking her."

"And you believe that we are somehow responsible for this?" asked Harry innocently.

"The circumstances do seem to indicate so; so yes," replied Dumbledore with his characteristic twinkle.

"What circumstances?" asked Ginny.

"First, no one including myself has been able to remove the curse from Miss Chang, which leads me to believe that a very powerful witch or wizard placed the curse on her.

"Second, this isn't the first time that Miss Chang has been attacked like this. Yes I am aware of what happened to cause the attack last time, but that doesn't mean I can allow it to continue," Dumbledore stated knowing perfectly well that was absolutely no way to prove it or actually do anything about it.

"Well, Professor, Ginny and I would be perfectly happy to visit the infirmary and try our best to remove this curse from her, but I believe that Miss Chang should avoid getting into situations that would expose her to such a nasty curse." stated Harry while laughing in the bond with Ginny.

Dumbledore knew that he would not get anything more from Harry, not that he actually got anything. There was no doubt in Dumbledore's mind that one of them was responsible, what worried him more however was the fact that Miss Chang had obviously been doing something she should not have been.

"Would you mind explaining what situation she got herself into?" he asked not actually expecting an answer.

"We have no idea, Professor but if you want to know what the situation was, I would recommend that you have a nice chat with Miss Chang, she definitely can spread more light on the matter," replied Harry before taking Ginny's hand and disappearing from Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore sighed; to be able to get around like that would be so useful he thought as he walked out of his office on the way to the infirmary.

"Good evening, Madam Pomfrey, how is our patient?" he asked as he strolled in.

"She is fully healed, Albus," replied Pomfrey looking confused.

"I see, and were there any visitors while I was gone?"

"None, all of a sudden the bats disappeared. I was then able to heal her," Pomfrey told him.

As they were talking Professor Flitwick arrived, having been advised of Cho's condition change. After a brief conversation with Dumbledore they both approached Cho.

"Miss Chang, please could you tell me what happened?" asked Flitwick.

"I was walking back to the castle when that Weasley bitch attacked me," snapped Cho rudely.

"Twenty points from Ravenclaw and a one match ban from Quidditch for your language, Miss Chang," Dumbledore announced.

Cho was about to protest when she saw the disappointed look on Flitwick's.

"Please can you explain why you are accusing Miss Weasley?" asked Dumbledore sternly.

Cho knew she didn't have any proof; however it was common knowledge that Ginny used that curse on a regular basis.

"I heard her say the incantation just before the bats attacked me," she lied, however the guilty look gave her away.

"Interesting, Professor McGonagall and I both checked her wand and those of her friends and none of them cast anything this evening," said Dumbledore as he struggled to keep his anger at her in check. He thought about viewing her memories but didn't know if she had any Occlumency shields and didn't want to risk causing more issues.

"Miss Chang, I must warn you now that if you dare accuse another student again without any evidence then you will receive a much harsher punishment, I don't know what you were doing this afternoon but I have to believe that whoever attacked you did it for a reason. If we do find out who did it then they also will be punished," Dumbledore told her before leaving.

Cho was escorted back to her common room by Flitwick who announced her Quidditch ban to the team before leaving for the evening.

* * *

Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Neville walked into the Potions classroom looking forward to another excellent lesson.

"On your desks you will find the instructions for a Potion that you will be creating today. You will be working in pairs and there will be no other interaction between the groups. I have assigned a different potion to each group so don't trying and copy what another is doing," Slughorn told them.

Harry and Ginny looked at the potion they had been assigned and immediately Harry looked up at Slughorn to find out what was going on, the potion they had been assigned wasn't even listed in the O.W.L or N.E.W.T requirements.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Potter," asked Slughorn.

"No, Professor," Harry replied with a smirk.

' _Bloody hell,_ ' said Harry. ' _I cannot believe that he has assigned us the reptile transfiguration potion, including instructions on how to extend it._ '

' _From the smirk on Hermione and Neville's faces I believe they also have a rather interesting potion,_ ' replied Ginny.

The students were soon busy brewing their potions, Harry and Ginny took the opportunity to make an extra large batch as they had a feeling it would come in very useful. They had found out from Hermione that they had a long lasting hair colouring potion that could only be reversed with the antidote, which for some reason Professor Slughorn had forgotten to give them the instructions for.

With ten minutes remaining in the lesson Malcolm Baddock decided to try and cause trouble. He carefully threw a large vial of a clear liquid towards Harry's cauldron, and quickly dove under his desk looking for his quill. Unfortunately for Malcolm three people had noticed his actions and before the vial could reach its destination it was suspended in mid air.

"Mr. Baddock, would you please explain why you threw this vial towards Mr. Potter?" asked an angry Slughorn.

"I didn't do anything," replied Malcolm stupidly.

"Are you calling me a liar?" asked Slughorn as he approached him menacingly.

Malcolm suddenly looked very pale indeed as his head of house looked livid.

"Mr. Baddock, for your actions you will serve detention with Mr. Filch every evening for the next week and will be docked one hundred house points. If this vial had landed in the Potion you would have seriously hurt most of the students in the room. May I remind you; who you are dealing with, Mr. Potter has defeated Lord Voldemort several times already and I can guarantee that you are no match for him, neither is any other student" Slughorn explained before throwing him out of the classroom.

Most of the other Slytherin's where livid that they had lost so many points because of the stupid actions of one of their own. They vowed to deal with him very swiftly and thoroughly.

The lesson was soon finished ended with Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Neville sending the rest of their potions to the Founders Study, before handing in a vial for marking.

"Congratulations," Professor Slughorn said before quietly adding, "I certainly hope that the potions made today will be put to good use!"

The four students walked out of the classroom with large smiles on their faces as the plotted how and when to start using the Potions. Hermione and Neville decided they would ask Dobby to add some to Professor Umbridge's tea the next morning. Meanwhile Harry and Ginny were planning to add their Potion to Umbridge's tea during one of their classes.

Because of Crabbe, Goyle and Baddock, Slytherin were in the negative for 250 house points much to the amusement of the other houses. When they found out who had caused them to lose so many points the rest of the Slytherin's simply refused to talk to them and they became outcasts in their own house

The only other thing that happened that evening during dinner was the occasional sound of a toad croaking very loudly. It was clearly coming from the teachers table very close to Professor Umbridge but nothing was found when Professors' Dumbledore, Slughorn and Umbridge investigated the sound. Once again Umbridge quickly escaped from the Great Hall with the sound following her.

"Once again it appears that we have to congratulate someone for their excellent spell work, but I must remind you that should we discover who is responsible for these pranks then they will be punished," Dumbledore told them the twinkle clearly evident in his eyes.

Most of the student's chuckled at Dumbledore's comment, it was no secret that he didn't like Umbridge any more than the students did.

* * *

The next morning the members of The New Marauders met in the Founders Study for their training session, they had already completed their run around the lake and were looking forward to duelling.

"Today we are going to learn sword fighting; Ginny and I will share with you the basic knowledge of how to fight using a sword. Once we are all comfortable we will share with you the more advanced techniques for wielding a sword in a fight and strategies," Harry told them.

"Tonks has agreed to supervise the sessions when we actually start to fight," continued Harry.

The others all looked excited at the prospect of learning something new.

"I will warn you now that this is not going to be easy at first; however the benefits we will all gain from this easily outweigh any discomfort we may feel. It is very unlikely that any of the new Death Eaters may have much if any experience with sword fighting," Harry explained.

"That doesn't mean we can relax on the other skills, we need to merge this in so that we can easily switch between different approaches during a battle.

"I have already asked Maxim to work on a Scabbard that works like our Wand holder's. This should allow us to carry the sword at all times and quickly draw it, if needed without anyone else being able to summon it or even see it," finished Harry.

Harry and Ginny quickly went around to each member and shared the knowledge they had chosen. They were only going to cover the motions for the first few sessions until everyone was comfortable holding the swords and knew how to defend themselves.

While the others were reviewing the information they had been given, Harry and Ginny took their swords and began to practice. They were still sore from practicing the night before but wanted to push past that so that they could get on to the basic duelling techniques. Due to their abilities they were able to quickly move pass the basics and were ready to start duelling. They didn't want to risk hurting each other so they requested several of the test dummies be brought from Potter Castle's training room.

As the session progressed, the others had all selected a sword they felt comfortable with and were now busy with the first practice exercises. Harry and Ginny had finished duelling with the practice dummies and was now moving around the room helping the others.

"It looks easier than it is," comment Fred as he continued to practice.

"Yes it does, Ginny and I started practicing recently after reviewing the information and I cannot believe all the places that hurt afterwards. That is why we are sticking just to the basics at the moment, so our bodies can get used to all the different movements," replied Harry.

At the end of the session all of them agreed that they were excited to continue learning but were very sore and knew they would be suffering later in the day.

"We need to get going," Harry told them as breakfast was about to start. "We don't want to miss the entertainment this morning."

* * *

Hermione, Fred, Luna and Neville had decided that a number of people should sample their hair colour potion.

They quickly made their way into the Great Hall and sat down, the food appeared several minutes later and they loaded their plates. The morning exercises always left them feeling very hungry, which resulted in them eating very large breakfasts to the amusement of those around them.

As breakfast progressed they heard laughter coming from the Slytherin table and turned around to see Crabbe and Goyle with violently pink hair. It appeared that neither of them had realized because they were still placing (or should we say shovelling) food into their mouths.

Moments later Baddock and Parkinson suddenly rushed out of the hall with bright red Weasley hair.

"Hey Fred, I didn't know there were more Weasley's at Hogwarts," shouted George.

"Neither did I," replied Fred.

"Why do you think they rushed out of the hall, are they not proud of the famous Weasley red?" asked Blaise Zabini.

"Must have clashed with their clothes," added Daphne Greengrass as more and more people started laughing.

As the banter continued between the various houses someone suddenly pointed to the Professor's table where Umbridge had violently pink hair, which matched her revolting robes. However it wasn't Umbridge that everyone was now staring at, it was Professor Dumbledore whose hair and beard were now bright neon green.

"I don't think this is quite my style," announced Professor Dumbledore, who had conjured a mirror to see his appearance fully.

Everyone could see that Professor Umbridge was livid that he wasn't doing anything about it.

"Professor Dumbledore, I don't believe it is appropriate for you to joke about this," she stated while pacing around the platform.

"Professor Umbridge, it was a harmless prank designed to entertain us. Certainly if the prank had targeted a single person I could understand you being upset but it hasn't. I for one do not have a problem with this," replied Dumbledore.

"The standards at this school are far worse then we feared, Cornelius will want to hear about this and make drastic changes," Umbridge shouted before storming out of the Great Hall to another round of laughter at her expense.

"It seems that someone has upset our Professor Umbridge. I believe it would be wise to lay off the pranks for a few days," Professor Dumbledore stated before leaving the Great Hall also.

Everyone was once again shocked to hear the Headmaster basically condone the pranks. Of course The New Marauders had absolutely no plans to stop them until Umbridge was beaten.

The rest of breakfast passed without incident; unfortunately for the Gryffindors they had DADA next and knew that Umbridge would be in a foul mood. They arrived in the classroom and quickly headed for their usual desks. As Harry and Ginny approached them, they could see an aura surrounding their desks, indicating that at least one spell had been placed around them, as they were still at the back of the room they quickly sat at the nearest empty desk. They realized after that this was the desk that Malcolm and Millicent normally sat at.

"Good morning," Professor Umbridge said as she walked in.

"Mr. Potter, why are you sitting back there?" she asked.

"Because I wanted a change, Professor," replied Harry.

"I'm sorry but I must insist that you sit at your usual desk," she told him before attempting to dragging him out of the seat.

' _I wouldn't do that if I was you,_ ' projected Harry into Umbridge's mind causing her to stagger back in shock.

They slowly got up and headed to their usual seats without any further comment. They both knew that the Dome Imperio spell would not actually work on them as their minds were fully protected from any outside influence. They could both see the delight on Umbridge's face when they entered the field of influence of the spell.

"Now, Mr. Potter, we shall learn the truth," Umbridge told the class.

"I seriously doubt that," someone mumbled behind Harry.

"Mr. Potter, please can you tell me what you know about the changing to the writing on the blackboard recently?" asked Umbridge.

"Yes, Professor, someone used magic to change the writing," he replied quickly causing several people to cough as they hid their laughter.

"And can you tell me who performed that magic?"

"I thought you had already established that it was Mr. Baddock who performed the spells," replied Harry causing more people to cough.

"Do you think I am stupid?" Umbridge said angrily.

"I'm not the one who is asking the questions when the answer have already been established, Professor."

At this point most of the students had tears in their eyes from the pain of holding in their laughter. They were not sure how much longer they could hold back as it was obvious that Umbridge was not going to give up the questioning of Harry.

"I know it was you that did it, Mr. Potter," she retorted angrily.

"You're right, Professor, it was me. I jumped out of my seat, raced to the back of the room, grabbed Mr. Baddock's wand from inside his robes, changed the writing on the blackboard, placed the wand back in his robes, and raced back to my seat. All of this so fast that you didn't even see me move." replied Harry in a sarcastic tone.

At this point no one was even trying to stop themselves from laughing as the room had dissolved into fits of laughter at Harry's response.

"Detention, Mr. Potter," shouted Umbridge.

Everyone quickly calmed down after that and returned to their seats. Yet again; Harry had been punished for no reason.

"Everyone will complete the next four Chapters before leaving this classroom today," she told them before sitting in her seat angrily.

Harry was determined to interrupt her lesson now, with a wave of his hand the word " **Toad** " appeared on the board for ten seconds and would then disappear again. Twenty seconds later it would appears at another spot. No one noticed the first few times but eventually someone spotted it and quickly told the person next to them.

Before long the whole class was watching the board as the word continued to appear and disappear. Harry waved his hand again and next time it appeared the colour also changed. This brought several coughs from those around them room as they watched in fascination at the board.

Umbridge looked up from her desk and noticed that everyone was staring at the board again. She turned to the board expecting to see if the writing had changed but it had not, she decided to watch the board for a while wondering what would happen but nothing did. She looked up again and everyone was back reading their books.

She watched them all closely for the next five minutes and when nothing happened except for the occasional turning of a page decided to return to her reading. Again Harry waved his hand and the word returned. This time accompanied by a picture of a large toad whose face looked suspiciously like Umbridge's.

Again Umbridge looked up to see everyone staring at the board, this time she quickly spun round to see what was on there but again couldn't see anything and when she looked back everyone was once again reading. She watched the closely for another five minutes and was starting to get very frustrated, it was obvious that something was happening but no one was saying anything.

This continued for the next hour, towards the end of the lesson the toad was catching flies with its tongue, eating them and then burping. At this point Harry decided to leave the animation on the board with " **Hi, I am Professor Umbridge, your DADA teacher** " written underneath it.

After several people coughed loudly Professor Umbridge looked at the board and saw the toad. Her reaction was stunning as she blasted the blackboard across the room, before it hit the wall however something stopped its motion and caused it to hover in the corner. Umbridge spun around expecting to see Harry holding his wand but he was still sitting at his desk calmly talking to Ginny.

"Mr. Potter, you have gone too far this time," she said angrily before throwing a curse at him. The curse was absorbed by his shield and so were all of the others that followed as she continued to get angrier and angrier at what was happening.

Most of the students in the room were horrified at the attack, but didn't do anything to stop it. The only ones who looked happy was Baddock and his friends.

Inside the shield Harry and Ginny were not even fazed by what Umbridge was doing, they couldn't decide if they should summon Dumbledore so he could witness the attack or not. Instead of doing anything Harry pulled Ginny into his lap and kissed her deeply, the others could not believe how calm they were.

' _So how long do you think she will continue attacking the shield?_ ' asked Ginny as they continued to kiss.

' _I don't know but if she doesn't stop soon she is going to blind everyone,_ ' replied Harry as the shield continued to get brighter and brighter.

' _Perfect, at some point it will be too bright for anyone, we can then place the potion in her tea without her realizing,_ ' replied Ginny happily.

A few minutes later the shield was so bright that everyone passed out, Harry jumped out of his seat and approached Umbridge's desk placing the potion in the cup of tea on her desk.

Once he was back in his seat he revived everyone and waited patiently to see how Umbridge reacted.

"How is that possible, you should not have been able to keep a shield up that long, especially against a much more powerful witch," she stated quietly, several coughs were heard around the room yet again at this comment.

Harry didn't both responding, there were at least four students in the room that were more powerful than she could ever imagine.

Umbridge told everyone to continue reading as though nothing had happened and walked back to her desk to finish her marking. She was silently plotting how to get revenge on Harry for embarrassing her.

A minute later she reached for the cup of tea on the desk, as soon as she drank it she was transformed into a large toad, the students watched in stunned amazement at what was happening. Harry jumped out of his seat and conjured a large tank including several rocks and a nice bowl of water. He then placed it in the corner of the room and placed Umbridge instead. Once done he placed an unbreakable charm on the tank so that no one could remove her.

Harry then turned to his class mates and quickly Obliviated them as he didn't want word of what had happened to get out. The only one's that were not affected by this were Ginny, Hermione and Neville.

Harry finished by sending a message to Professor Dumbledore telling him that his DADA teacher would be unable to teach for at least a week. When he arrived in the classroom and saw the large container at the front of the room with the toad he understood why.

"You will have to tell me what happened here," Dumbledore said quietly as the students left the classroom.

Harry proceeded to show Dumbledore the spell that had been placed over their desk, and then explained what happened after she question him for several minutes and as he didn't answer as she wanted. Unfortunately due to the number of spells that Umbridge had thrown at Harry's shield they were not able to get evidence from her wand so could not do anything about the spell.

"Twenty house points for the wonderful animation," Dumbledore stated as he watched the black board with amusement.

"Thank you, Professor," replied Harry, deciding to leave the animation on the board. He knew that none of the other Professor would bother to remove it and it would be a reminder to Umbridge when she finally returned.

* * *

News quickly spread around the school about what had happened to Professor Umbridge and no one was bothered by it. Because all the students in the room had their memories altered no one even had a clue how it happened.

This put Professor Dumbledore in a difficult situation since he was one teacher short, he had no intention of contacting the Ministry about what had happened despite the new rules that Minister Fudge had created. Opting instead to contact Sirius Black and asked him to visit the school.

"Good Morning, Sirius," Professor Dumbledore said when he arrived in the office.

"Morning, Albus. I hope my godson isn't causing too much trouble?" Sirius said as he sat down.

"Actually, he is the reason I contacted you today. He had another run in with Professor Umbridge, unfortunately for her; she has now been transformed into a toad and it seems that no one is able to reverse the transformation," Dumbledore said.

"Are you telling me that the great Albus Dumbledore most powerful wizard of our age, and Minerva McGonagall, probably the best Transfiguration Mistress of the age, are unable to fix her?" asked Sirius with a laugh.

"Ah, you are mistaken, Sirius. I am the third most powerful of our age, and I never said we can't fix her. I said we were not able to fix her because we agree with the punishment she received. It was me after all that encouraged Horace to provide Harry and Ginny with the potion instructions," Dumbledore replied looking very proud of his achievement.

"Are you telling me, that you Albus Dumbledore who constantly harassed the Marauders condoned the prank?" Sirius asked while collapsing into the seat.

"I believe I may have done so, oh and you really should ask Harry to show you the wonderful animation he created," Dumbledore added with another laugh.

Sirius sat in the chair for several minutes thinking about all he had heard; when one of Dumbledore's comments suddenly struck him.

"What do you mean you are the third most powerful?" he asked again looking shocked.

"Sirius, you must have realized by now that Harry and Ginny are no ordinary Wizard and Witch. They are by far the most powerful on the planet, not only because of the bond, but also because of their Phoenix Magic. You saw the battle at St. Mungos that left Voldemort so close to death that he had to use one of his Horcruxes to survive," Dumbledore told him.

"But we don't know who that was," replied Sirius.

Dumbledore laughed before responding, "Sirius, who else could it have been? You saw how he arrived and the amount of damage he did to Voldemort."

"Bloody Hell," Sirius said collapsing further into the seat.

"Anyway, that isn't why I called you here today. Since Harry has left me without a DADA teacher for an indefinite amount of time, I need someone to cover the classes," Dumbledore explained.

"And you want me to do it?" asked Sirius looking like Christmas had come early.

"Yes, from what I have heard the classes have not been very useful so far. Therefore they may need a lot of help. I am also going to recommend that you setup some private sessions for anyone who wants to learn when Professor Umbridge is back, which unfortunately will have to happen at some point as she is reporting to Minister Fudge.

"Harry can help you with the private sessions, I suggest that you use the Room of Requirement and make sure that anyone who joins signs an agreement that they will not talk about the session," Dumbledore told them.

"What happens if someone finds out about the private sessions? And how will we explain me still being around after Professor Umbridge returns?" asked Sirius.

"If anyone finds out I will take responsibility so you don't have to worry. As to the second issue I believe that you have a very useful Animagus form and I am sure that Hagrid would be happy to let you stay in his cabin whilst he is away."

"Sounds like you have everything planned out, I would be happy to help and look forward to teaching them," replied Sirius looking very excited.

"One last thing, Sirius, Harry has been making friends in all the houses include Slytherin. Don't be surprised if he invites them to the private sessions. I ask that you keep an open mind because only together can we hope to completely eliminate Tom and his followers," Dumbledore stated before dismissing him.

"I will keep that in mind, when do you want me to start?" Sirius asked.

"This afternoon if possible," replied Dumbledore looking hopeful.

"No problem, I will be back in half an hour."

* * *

Professor Dumbledore announced at lunch time that Sirius Black would be covering while Professor Umbridge was unavailable; there was a loud cheer around the Great Hall at the news.

Sirius returned after lunch and quickly made his way to the DADA classroom, he had the third year Gryffindor and Ravenclaws first, and they were excited to see Sirius standing in the classroom. In the corner was the container with Umbridge and the blackboard that Harry had enhanced.

"Good afternoon, I am Professor Black and will be teaching until Professor Umbridge is able to return."

"Before we start our lesson I would like to remind you that we are not to feed Professor Umbridge during lessons, we wouldn't want her to escape."

The students burst into laughter at his comment, once the class had settled down again, he proceeded with the lesson.

"I have been told that you have been forced to read a book on Defence. Today we are going to practice the spells that you have been reading about. Despite what certain members of the Ministry have told you Lord Voldemort has returned and you need to be able to defend yourselves should he attack.

"How many of you know the spell to create a shield?" He asked.

Most of the class put their hands up to answer the question.

"Excellent I want each of you that know to practice in the left part of the classroom. The others move to the right and I will teach you. I have asked Auror Tonks to assist in the lesson, she will be watching you as you practice and will guide you. If you need help please do not be afraid to ask," continued Sirius.

Everyone was shocked when Tonks suddenly appeared next to Sirius.

"As Mad-Eye Moody would say 'Constant Vigilance'," Tonks said after appearing. "You won't always know when someone is in the room watching you. Therefore you should always make sure that everything is as it appears before assuming you are safe."

By the end of the lesson everyone was able to produce some level of shield, most where quite weak but would get stronger as the students practiced.

"Excellent, I want twelve inches of parchment on the different shield spells, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each one. Remember to be constantly on your guard, Voldemort doesn't care who stands in his way and will attack if you are in the way," Sirius explained at the end of the lesson.

Sirius had asked Harry and Ginny to help with the next class as they had a free lesson. He had the seventh year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's before they entered the classroom he had Harry, Ginny and Tonks hide themselves.

The students quickly entered the room and took there seats.

"Good afternoon," Sirius said.

"Today we are going to determine how much you have learned from reading the books that were assigned by Professor Umbridge. With the return of Lord Voldemort it is not enough just to read about how to defend yourself, but you need to be able to do it in an emergency.

"Each of you spread out and prepare to defend yourselves," Sirius told them.

They quickly spread out around the room facing Sirius expecting him to attack them. They soon found that it wasn't only Sirius who was attacking them when a number of Stunners came out of nowhere towards them. Two of the students were not quick enough and were knocked out; a third was able to get his shield up just in time.

The students looked around in panic wondering what was happening; they had not seen where the curses had come from. They quickly rearranged themselves into a tight group so that they could defend themselves from attack.

"Well done, as you have seen sometimes the attacks will not be visible to you. I have three helpers with me today who will test you during the lesson. You have ten minutes to come up with a plan to defend yourselves and also attempt to expose the attackers," Sirius told them.

They quickly arranged themselves; the stronger students were tasked with shielding the others. The others would keep watch and attempt to reveal the location of the attackers when the curses were thrown.

The rest of the lesson Harry, Ginny and Tonks would attack and move. The students soon started firing Stunner in patterns towards the area that a Stunner came from and eventually hit Tonks. Harry and Ginny had the advantage that they could flash to another location so they could completely randomize their attack patterns.

"Congratulations, you have learned a valuable lesson today. You may not always be able to see your attackers and you worked together towards the end and were able to Stun Auror Tonks. Only when we work together can we hope to defeat Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"Unfortunately I cannot promise that you will be able to practice again in during lessons as Professor Umbridge will have to return at some point. However I would strongly recommend that you find time to practice in private," Sirius told them before dismissing the class.

The students never found out who the other two attackers were, neither Harry nor Ginny wanted to reveal too many secrets.

Once the other students had left the room Harry walked up to the glass case.

"Good afternoon, Professor, unfortunately we cannot allow you to remember what has happened here today," he said before Obliviating her.

* * *

That evening Katie had scheduled the first of their Quidditch practices. Now that they had a complete reserve squad they wanted to spend as much time as possible training them. They wanted them to be as efficient as the main team so that any one of them could easily slot in should there be an injury.

They started the session by running around the pitch twice, once they had finished they then spent an hour doing basic exercises. Katie had the Chasers spent the time throwing and catching the Quaffle; the beaters flew around the pitch hitting the Bludger between them while Harry had Justin flying around attempting to catch the Snitch.

To end the session Katie had them play a quick game, the first team to one hundred points would win. Harry and Justin would continue to practice with the Snitch but it would not count towards the game.

The game lasted longer than Katie expected for the first game, she was pleased to see that the reserve team were actually working well together. She decided that for future practices she would mix up the teams so that they all were used to playing together in any combination.

After the practice Katie looked very excited.

"That was by far the best practice since I joined the team, if we continue this we will have the cup in the bag for certain," exclaimed Katie

That didn't stop her from scheduling three training sessions per week.

They made there way back to the castle after the practice when Harry and Ginny suddenly felt themselves pulled to Voldemort's mind. They quickly made their excuses and returned to the Quidditch pitch so they could flash to the Founders Study and enter his mind.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

As soon as they entered Tom's mind they made their way very carefully to the spot where they normally observed the meetings. They could sense that Tom was still not awake but were not really sure what the condition of his health was.

"Friends," said the lead Death Eater. "We have determined what we need to do to help our Lord recuperate, there is an object hidden away that we need to find. Once we have the object we will be able to perform a ritual."

"Where is the object," asked another Death Eater.

"I have general details of what the object is and where it may be located. I have sent someone to check the location and expect to hear from him soon," the first Death Eater replied.

"What do we do once we have the object?" asked another Death Eater.

"We have to perform a ritual using the object; once it is performed it will allow our Lord to regain his strength. Unfortunately there are very few details about how long it will take for him to recover once the ritual has been performed," the first Death Eater explained.

The rest of the meeting passed quickly, they had made no progress in planning the breakout of their fellow Death Eaters from Azkaban, in addition it seemed that several Death Eaters were missing from St. Mungo's and have not been seen since.

Harry and Ginny spent some more time exploring Voldemort's mind but were not able to make much progress, they were almost certain that Voldemort had deliberately removed the information from his own mind so that no one could gain access to it just in case someone was able to break his Occlumency shields.

As they exited Voldemort mind Harry suddenly realized where the missing Death Eaters were.

' _I completely forgot about them,_ ' Harry said to Ginny.

Ginny was momentarily confused until she saw what Harry was talking about, ' _so did I, with all that has happened it isn't surprising really._ '

' _What are we going to do with them?_ ' asked Harry with some concern.

' _I don't know, Harry. We cannot leave them in the Dungeons forever, if we release them they will only return to Tom and if we hand them over to the Ministry it is almost certain that they will escape again,_ ' Ginny told him.

' _I am going to talk to Sirius and ask him what he thinks,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Sounds like a good plan,_ ' replied Ginny before adding. ' _So Mr. Potter, we seem to be in bed at the moment is there anything else you would like to think about other than stupid Death Eaters?_ '

' _Well we do need to decide what to do with the other bedrooms at Potter Castle,_ ' replied Harry seriously.

Ginny was not happy with Harry's response and was about to climb out of bed and make him regret the stupid answer when she felt him crawl under the covers, moments later any thoughts of leaving were gone.

* * *

The next morning Sirius joined them for their run, as he was staying at the school. As they completed the second lap of the lake they were surprised to see that most of the other members of the Quidditch team, including the reserves, were slowly making their way around the lake. It seemed that Katie's insistence that they practice regularly had been taken to heart.

Harry could tell that Katie was immensely pleased that they were willing to make the effort and promised to include them more not only in the practice sessions but also involved them during the games. She had been studying the rules carefully and found out that they were actually allowed to make as many substitutions as they deemed necessary so they could rest players and then bring them back into the game. None of the house teams had done this for many years as they didn't both to train any reserves.

When they returned to the Founders Study they were going to continue practicing their sword fighting when Sirius stopped them and advised them what Dumbledore had asked.

"When I spoke to Professor Dumbledore yesterday he suggested that we setup a secret club to allow other students to practice their spells and for the fifth and seventh years to prepare for their OWLS and NEWTS. We cannot leave Umbridge as a toad forever otherwise Fudge will get suspicious and we don't want him coming to the school to investigate.

"The club will be open to anyone who wants to practice; and the plan would be to teach them more than they would learn in DADA. The hope is that should any of them be in a position where they need to defend themselves they will at least be able to make some sort of stand. Even if it is only long enough for those around them to escape before they follow.

"Dumbledore asked that we create a contract that each person will sign, he doesn't want Umbridge or the Ministry finding out. As we know there are too many leaks at the moment and Voldemort would not react well to finding out," Sirius told them.

He then turned to Hermione and asked, "Can you look into this and see what can be created, we need to make sure that anyone who signs it would be bound to keep the club and what they have been learning secrets."

"Yes, Sirius I will work on it after breakfast," Hermione replied excitedly already making notes on a parchment.

"We are going to use the Room of Requirement for the practice sessions as it will allow us to control the environment for training, in the long run we should aim to use the same types of training scenario's that you have been doing, although it won't be as complex it will still allow for a more realistic lesson," Sirius added.

"Dumbledore also asked that we open it up to all the houses and not limit who we invite," added Sirius who didn't seem quite as happy with this aspect.

"I agree," replied Harry sensing Sirius hesitancy. "If we are going to finally defeat Tom then we all need to work together, we cannot let the petty House rivalries that have haunted Hogwarts for far too long stop us from working together. Several Slytherin's have already put their lives on the line to warn Ginny and I about a threat."

They spent the rest of the session planning out how they would notify everyone in the group and how they would get them to sign up. They were not going to reveal the location until they had signed the contract therefore they had to find a way of contacting each group.

"I think we should contact a couple of people in each house that we trust and then ask them to invite others. That way we don't have to have any big meetings before we start and it will be less suspicious," Ginny said as they were talking.

"Yes that would be ideal, Ginny and I will sort that out once we have the contract," responded Harry.

"Now we just need to come up with a name for the group," Sirius said.

"What about Defense Association?" offered Neville.

"Potter's Army," suggested Katie, that was quickly shot down however as Harry didn't want his name associated with it like that. He didn't want to be involved in this war as it was but had no choice.

Several more names were suggested before George chimed in "What about, Dumbledore's Army?"

Everyone agreed that this was the best suggestion so far so they decided to vote on it, when there were no negative votes they adopted the name Dumbledore's Army or DA for short.

Harry and Ginny asked Sirius to remain behind after the others had left as they needed to discuss the situation with the imprisoned Death Eaters.

"What's wrong?" asked Sirius once they were alone.

"We remembered last night that when we were preparing the defense of St. Mungo's from the Death Eater attack, we discovered several and they were transported to the dungeons at Potter Castle," explained Ginny. "As far as we know they are still there."

"Why did you send them to the castle?" asked Sirius with concern.

"We knew that if we sent them to the Ministry or Azkaban they would have escaped or released again so we decided to capture them," responded Harry.

"But then you forgot about them, I am sure they are going to be happy about that," laughed Sirius.

"To be honest we don't really care, obviously no one has missed them so far as I haven't seen any reports," replied Harry.

"What are you going to do with them?" asked Sirius.

"That's what we wanted to discuss with you, what do you think?" asked Harry in return.

"I think you should interrogate them and see what you can learn; it may also be an opportunity to study the Dark Mark in more detail."

"How do you mean?" asked Ginny.

"Well you know roughly how the Dark Mark works thanks to the knowledge you have gained from Tom. What if there was a way to use the mark to track the Death Eaters or something similar?"

"Hmm, that would be worthy research, I will have to talk to Hermione to see if she has any ideas how we could do that," replied Harry happily.

"However that still doesn't answer what we are going to do with them longer term," added Ginny.

"I think it will have to depend on what you learn from them, using your abilities to read people's minds you will be able to determine what crimes they have committed as Death Eaters. If they have been involved in some of the more serious crimes then I suggest that you challenge them to a duel," commented Sirius.

"Why would we challenge them?"

"If you challenge them to an official duel then you cannot be held accountable for what happens to them, while taking a life is never easy you at least gave them a chance to defend themselves. The duel would be recorded in the ministry achieves automatically once initiated including who won," replied Sirius.

"Who has access to the records?" asked Ginny.

"The senior members of the Department of Law Enforcement and the Minister," replied Sirius. "But they never access them unless someone requests a review of a duel."

"Thank you, Sirius," Harry told him as they left for breakfast.

* * *

At breakfast Harry and Ginny sent a message to Daphne Greengrass, Tracey David and Blaise Zabini using a school owl asking them to meet them later that morning.

The three of them made their way quietly into the DADA classroom making sure that no one was following them. They had been having trouble with Malcolm Baddock and his gang recently and had to constantly watch their backs.

As they entered the classroom they placed some privacy wards over the door. A few moments later they heard a loud crash as someone obviously hit the wards unexpectedly and were thrown back against the opposite wall.

Harry had placed the wards on the door knowing that someone was likely to follow the three of them. As he expected it was Malcolm Baddock under an invisibility cloak, Harry flashed him to another part of the castle, then Obliviated his memory and removed most of his clothes to ensure that the only place he would be heading was his room.

Harry returned to the DADA classroom and placed Privacy Charms around the room and over the glass case holding Umbridge before speaking to the three Slytherins.

"Thank you for coming, before we proceed I need you to promise that anything said in this room will remain secret?" asked Harry.

The three of them looked at each other before agreeing to Harry's terms.

Harry then went on to explain about Dumbledore's Army, he told them that it was open to all of the students who didn't support Voldemort, he also explained about the contract that they would have to sign. Finally he explained that they would like them to be the ones to recruit people from Slytherin to join the group.

"I am surprised that you are inviting us," Daphne stated after Harry had finished.

"I will admit that before I would not have been inclined to invite you, but you have already demonstrated your disdain for what Voldemort is doing. You have also alienated yourselves from the other members of you own house who do support Voldemort. We will only be able to defeat Voldemort if we work together," replied Harry.

"And it's not like we haven't been attacked by people in our own house either," added Ginny bitterly.

The three of them considered everything that Harry had told them and decided that it would be in their best interests to join the group and work with Harry and Ginny.

"Okay, you are right, we will talk to those we know that don't support what Voldemort is doing, when the contracts are ready," replied Blaise.

"The contract is ready now, and there is one for each house, but most importantly it is a magically binding contract. If anyone tries to reveal information about Dumbledore's Army they will quickly regret it," replied Harry with a mischievous smile.

"Okay, I don't want to know what will happen," Blaise responded looking a little nervous.

"I am sure you will not have to worry about it," replied Harry which didn't help.

The three of them signed the contract before leaving with a promise to keep them updated with their progress.

Just as they got to the door Blaise turned to Harry, "What did you do with Malcolm?"

"I showed him a rarely explored part of the castle and left him there," replied Harry with a smile.

"Doesn't sound too bad," replied Blaise wondering why Harry had been so easy on the git.

"Except that I also banished most of his clothes and wand to Professor McGonagall's office so I am sure that she is looking for the owner of the clothes and he is trying to make his way back to his room without being caught."

The Slytherins burst into laughter and decided to go find Malcolm so they could enjoy the show.

"You know, Harry, people are going to start asking question if you keep removing people's clothes like that?" stated Tracey with a smirk.

"Hey, I didn't do it last time, that was Ginny's idea," Harry protested, earning Harry a slap which caused them all to burst into laughter again.

* * *

Meanwhile Malcolm Baddock was making his way back to the Slytherin common room when Professor McGonagall spotted him behind one of the suits of armour.

"Mr. Baddock, can you please explain why you are only wearing your underwear in the school corridor, and why these appeared on my desk?" she asked angrily.

"I don't know, Professor," replied Malcolm. "I woke up on the other side of the castle but don't remember how I got there."

She handed him back his school robes so that he could at least cover himself before escorting him to Professor Slughorn's quarters.

"What has he done now," asked Slughorn looking upset.

"I'm afraid I found Mr. Baddock walking around the corridors wearing just his underwear. He claims that he woke up by the Ravenclaw common room and doesn't remember how he got there," McGonagall replied.

"Mr. Baddock, do you honest expect us to believe that?" Slughorn asked with a sneer.

"Yes, Professor, I don't have any memory of this morning since leaving the Great Hall after having breakfast," replied Baddock.

"Mr. Baddock, have you been drinking?" asked Slughorn.

"What do you mean, Professor?" replied Malcolm looking upset.

"I cannot see any other way of explaining your sudden memory loss and your missing clothing," Slughorn told him.

"It was Potter," shouted Malcolm.

"Do you have any proof that Mr. Potter was responsible," asked Slughorn.

"No, Professor, but I know it was him."

"I see, well as you cannot prove it you will serve one week detention for not wearing the correct clothing around the school and another week for accusing another student without any evidence. Just be grateful that I haven't taken any more house points off," Slughorn told him. "Now get back to your room and get dressed."

Slughorn and McGonagall continued to talk once Malcolm left his room.

There was no doubt in their minds what had really happened, but they knew it would be useless to check Harry's wand. They also knew that Harry would not do anything unless he had a very good reason; he had proved so many times in the past.

"We need to talk to Mr. Potter; he will need to be more careful. We cannot have students suddenly turning up around the castle not knowing how they got there, it is also interesting that the punishment is the same as what happened on the train," McGonagall said before leaving the office.

* * *

The next couple of days passed very quickly, Harry and Ginny had spoken with Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones from Hufflepuff and they had agreed to join and invite others. Quidditch practice was getting better and better as they were able to fully incorporate the new players including all the reserves and they were rapidly reaching the levels they had during the summer.

Hermione had been working on a way of notifying the members of Dumbledore's Army when a meeting would occur. This would allow them to call an emergency meeting if needed and would also allow them to keep the times of the meetings different to avoid anyone catching them.

"Harry, I think we can Charm these coins to alert everyone when the meeting will start," Hermione told him.

"How does it work?" asked Harry looking closely with his Aura and Phoenix vision.

"The coins will all be linked to a set of Master coins; when you want to communicate you can set a message on the Master coins and it will immediately appear on all the other coins," Hermione told him proudly.

"That's brilliant," replied Harry happily.

They continued to discuss the coins and who would carry the Master coins. Harry, Ginny and Sirius were eventually selected to carry the Master coins with one left in the Founders Study for the others to use if needed.

Sirius relayed the information to Professor Dumbledore who was pleased with what had been done. He also congratulated them for involving each of the houses and allowed people who they felt they could trust to invite others.

When he found out what the punishment would be for breaking the contract once signed he smiled and told Sirius that he hoped no one would find out.

* * *

Finally the first Quidditch match had arrived and it was Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

They agreed before the match that unless Slytherin were playing really dirty then they were not just going to beat them they were going to humiliate them.

As everyone made their way out into the stadium for the match Katie was preparing to give her pre-game speech.

"Now, remember what we have learned and let's go get them," said Katie.

"Is that it," said Fred looking shocked.

"We were just getting comfortable for the lecture," added George earning himself a slap from Katie.

"Seriously guys, what else is there to say, we know our strengths and weaknesses. Why would I want to put the whole team to sleep before we even get out there?" laughed Katie.

They all joined hands and with a big shout declared "GO GRYFFINDOR" before launching themselves out of the changing room to loud applause. The fourteen players made their way around the stadium before the reserves made their way down to the bench.

An hour later the game was still going strong, Gryffindor were as they promised completely humiliating Slytherin and were up 220-0. Katie decided it was time to bring in some of the reserve played, she had already told them that Harry would stay on for the whole game but any of the other players including her could be changed.

Professor Sinistra blew her whistle when Katie indicated they wanted a timeout. A couple of minutes later three of the reserve players joined the game. The Slytherin's thought that they were now going to get a chance, however an hour later it was now 370-0 before Katie called another time out.

As soon as Sinistra blew the whistle to continue the game the Slytherin's protested before the original players were back in the game instead of the reserves.

"Professor, Gryffindor are cheating," exclaimed one of the Slytherin players.

"What do you mean?" asked Sinistra.

"They changed players during their first time out and then brought them back," another player said angrily.

"They are within their rights to change players as often as they like during a game," replied Sinistra.

The Slytherin's continued to protest for a while before Dumbledore announced that they would forfeit the game if they didn't continue immediately.

The game resumed and Gryffindor were soon scoring again. Harry knew exactly where the snitch was and knew that Baddock had not seen it so continued to pretend to look for it. Suddenly Harry dove towards the Slytherin goal posts.

"Potter has spotted the Snitch" shouted Lee Jordan from the commentary box.

Harry continued to race towards the ground closely followed by Baddock at the very last second Harry pull up sharply and watched with great pleasure as Baddock hit the ground at full speed.

"Oh, that was the best Wronski Feint I have ever seen," shouted Lee again.

Slytherin called for a time out so they could have Baddock looked at, he was currently out cold on the ground.

Five minutes later he was finally back on his broom and the game resume. Slytherin decided to start cheating and were soon down by another 50 point due to penalties.

As the game extended into the fourth hour Gryffindor were winning 460-0 and Slytherin had not even had a single shot. Deciding that he was getting bored of the game and would much rather spend the rest of the afternoon in Ginny's arms he went after the snitch.

"Potter seems to have spotted the snitch again," shouted Lee with delight as he saw him racing towards it.

"It seems that Mr. Baddock believes it is another Feint. Too bad, Mr. Baddock; Gryffindor wins 610-0 which goes down in the record books as being the biggest humiliation, I mean win, in Hogwarts history."

Three quarters of the stadium erupted in loud cheers when Harry caught the Snitch, the Slytherin's were furious and were all shouting at Baddock.

Gryffindor had a large celebration that evening to celebrate the victory. They also promised to not humiliate the other houses nearly as much so that Slytherin would look even worse.

* * *

A week after Professor Umbridge was transformed into a toad Professor Dumbledore asked to speak with Harry.

"Good morning, unfortunately I don't believe we will be able to get away with keeping Professor Umbridge as a toad any longer," Dumbledore told him as he sat down.

"I understand, Albus, it's a shame really she was much more pleasant as a toad," replied Harry.

"Yes she was, but Fudge is going to question why she hasn't reported in for a week. We will already have to find a way of explaining her missing memories," replied Dumbledore.

"I have already thought of that, we could just claim that whatever she drank caused her memory loss and that was why it took a week for her to recover as Madam Pomfrey didn't understand what had happened to her."

"Yes that would work, we will have to transport her to the infirmary so that she wakes up there after we have changed her back," replied Dumbledore looking very amused.

"I will contact Madam Pomfrey and explain what we will be doing. Can you bring her to the infirmary after your next class?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Certainly, Professor," Harry told him before leaving the office and heading to his DADA class.

Harry walked in five minutes later for his lesson and took his seat next to Ginny.

"Sorry I am late, Professor. I had to meet with Professor Dumbledore," Harry said as he sat down.

"No problem, Mr. Potter. Miss Weasley, already explained that you would be delayed," replied Sirius. Of course Harry knew that but they had to keep up appearances.

They concentrated on Patronuses for the rest of the lesson; Sirius didn't cover the Fire Patronus as he wanted the students to be able to produce a normal one first. In addition they didn't want to reveal too much about that in the normal classes. He asked Harry and Ginny to demonstrate theirs for the class and also explain how to produce one.

"The Patronus Charm requires the caster to focus on happy memories. In order to produce the Patronus you have to focus on your happy memories and say the incantation 'Expecto Patronum'.

"It is important to remember that this is very advanced magic, and not everyone will be able to do it right away. Most people will be able to produce a mist which will be effective but will not last long. A corporal Patronus is the strongest but is very difficult to produce.

"Don't expect to be able to produce one first time otherwise you will quickly be discouraged," Harry explained to them all.

The rest of the lesson was spent practicing; Harry, Ginny, Neville and Hermione spent the time helping the others as they were all able to produce a corporal Patronus already. By the end only a couple of students had been able to produce a mist by nothing else. Sirius reminded them all before they left not to be discouraged by their apparent lack of progress.

As soon as the class was dismissed Harry flashed Professor Umbridge up to the Infirmary and after Obliviating her one last time left her with Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey.

* * *

Later that day Professor Umbridge returned to her lessons in a very foul mood, she had not believed what Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey had told her and promised them that she would do her best to find out what really happened.

As soon as the students settled down for their lesson she told them that they would need to take a quiz and would lose one house point for each question that was wrong. By the end of the day every house had negative house points because she used an Auror test paper.

She used the same paper on every class for the rest of the week; however the loss of points wasn't as bad because every other Professor had started awarding more points in their lessons.

Harry's class was the first of The New Marauders to have the test and they realized that they would have to answer the questions incorrectly otherwise they would risk being found out. He quickly projected to the others that they had to at least answer a quarter of the questions incorrectly. He could tell that Hermione was not happy with that, she however acknowledged the request.

Harry quickly answered the questions that he wanted to and then finished the other questions with random comments. Once he had finished he sat there waiting for the lesson to end while making the word ' **Toad** ' appear on the blackboard at random times, much to the delight of the other students.

"Detention, Mr. Potter," shouted Umbridge suddenly.

"Why?" replied Harry as he looked up.

"Because you are supposed to be taking a test not sitting there staring at the blackboard," replied Umbridge.

"I have already finished the test, Professor," replied Harry while showing her his parchment.

"Don't lie to me, Mr. Potter," she sneered.

"I am not lying, if you don't believe me why don't you come and check," Harry said back in anger.

"Remember who you are talking to, Mr. Potter. I don't know what your other Professors let you get away with but I will not tolerate disrespect in my lessons," replied Umbridge as her anger grew.

"Respect is earned, Professor. I have already told you I completed the test and yet you called me a liar without checking," replied Harry before grabbing has bag and leaving the room.

Umbridge then watched in shock as the rest of the class packed their bags and walked out. She was furious and immediately left the classroom and used the Floo Network to travel to the Ministry to speak to Minister Fudge.

* * *

The next morning during breakfast Hedwig arrived with the latest copy of the Daily Prophet.

 _ **Undersecretary Umbridge installed as Hogwarts High Inquisitor By Rita Skeeter**_

 _ **This morning Ministry Fudge announced that Undersecretary Umbridge had been installed as the new High Inquisitor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**_

 _ **Minister Fudge had this to say "Due to the seriously falling standards at Hogwarts it has become necessary to install a High Inquisitor to address these issues. Madam Umbridge who had already revolutionized the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts; will as High Inquisitor, have the ability to address the problems found at the school. The education of our young people will no longer be left solely under the control of the headmaster and will instead be handled by a new department at the Ministry led by Undersecretary Umbridge."**_

 _ **It is not clear at this time what changes if any Madam Umbridge will make at the school. Headmaster Dumbledore was not available for comment.**_

Harry wasn't surprised by this; Fudge had been trying to get control of the school for some time.

"What are we going to do?" asked Ginny after reading the article.

"Nothing, we will just continue as we have been. What's the worse that she can do?" asked Harry.

"I am sure she will find a way to get us expelled," replied Ginny.

"True but we could pass the exams tomorrow without any effort so that really isn't much of a threat, I think she would want to keep us close by," Harry told her as they continued to eat.

"We will just have to be a lot more careful around her," Ginny stated.

After breakfast they had Potions, during the lesson Professor Umbridge turned up and started asking Professor Slughorn various questions.

"Professor Slughorn; is it true that Professor Dumbledore blackmailed you into returning to the school?" asked Umbridge.

"That is not true," replied Slughorn angrily.

"Then how come you returned when you refused to return in the past?"

"Dumbledore is an old friend and explained what had happened to Professor Snape," replied Slughorn.

"What can you tell me about that?" she asked fishing for information.

"Nothing, that is personal, if you want to discuss it then ask Professor Dumbledore," replied Slughorn.

"May I remind you who I am," Umbridge replied angrily.

"I don't care who you are, that is not my information to give out," Slughorn told her before turning back to the class.

Umbridge continued to badger Slughorn asking more and more personal questions about what he had been doing before returning to Hogwarts, it was obvious that she was fishing for information.

Harry decided to interrupt the interview by causing an explosion in Malcolm Baddock's cauldron which happened to be right next to Professor Umbridge. The class could not help but laugh when they saw her face completely covered in boils from the explosion.

"Professor, I suggest you go to the Infirmary immediately, you will not want those boils to be exposed to the light for long otherwise the damage will be permanent," Slughorn told her while cleaning up the mess that Baddock's cauldron had made.

"Mr. Baddock, please see me after the lesson," Slughorn told him.

At the end of the lesson Harry projected a message to Slughorn, ' _Professor, I caused that explosion, I was wondering why Umbridge was continually questioning you so I did a scan of her arm. She is a Death Eater and I suspect she has been placed here by Voldemort. She must have been trying to get information out of you that Voldemort or Fudge could use against you._ '

Slughorn looked confused when he first heard the message and then was a little upset that someone had been able to break through his shields as he believed them to be impenetrable.

He told Baddock that he would not punish him but that he had to return on Saturday morning to complete the potion, in order to get a mark for this class.

Professor Umbridge spend the rest of the day in the infirmary having the boils treated but soon returned and began questioning other Professors in the school.

* * *

The next day Ron approached Ginny hesitantly.

"Ginny, can I talk to you please?" asked Ron when she was free.

"I'm listening Ron," she replied icily.

"Look, I wanted to apologize for how I treated you. I shouldn't have attacked you," said Ron.

Ginny stared directly in his eyes and deep into his soul, she could tell that he was sorry for what he had done but could also see that he still didn't fully approve of her being with Harry.

Ron was starting to get nervous the longer that she stared at him; he was hoping that she would accept the apology and they could at least start to be friends again.

"I can see that you are sorry for what you did, however you have a lot further to go before I will forgive you. You will also need to apologize to Harry for what you did to him, you know that we are together now and I will know if you don't," replied Ginny without showing any emotion. She was pleased that he had at least tried to make an effort; she could tell that Harry was pleased that he had finally apologized to Ginny which was the main condition that he had set.

"Thank you for listening to me," replied Ron looking hopeful.

"As I said once you have spoken to Harry then we can talk again," replied Ginny.

Ron disappeared to find Harry as he wanted to talk to him before he lost his nerve. Luckily he found him in the common room talking with the twins and decided to approach them.

"Harry, can I talk to you for a minute," Ron said nervously because of the dirty looks he was getting from the twins.

"Okay," replied Harry and he walked slightly away from the twins.

"Harry, I spoke with Ginny and have apologized for what I did to her and I want to apologize to you also. I had no right to attack you like I did and have lost several friends because of my actions. I just hope that one day we can be friends again," Ron told him.

"Thank you, Ron. I cannot promise that we will be close friends again but I will promise that if you continue to show that you are sorry for what you did, then it could happen. I can tell that you are still not comfortable with Ginny and I being together, which is something you are going to have accept and get over if you want us to be friends again.

"I know; I have already started to accept that you will be together. I was just not expecting it to happen so suddenly. Bill told me that if the rest of the family could accept it then I should too," replied Ron honestly.

"Well then is sounds like there is hope for you," replied Harry before shaking his hand and walking away.

* * *

The first meeting of Dumbledore's Army was complete chaos, a lot more people had signed up than Sirius had expected and while they knew the secret would be safe it was going to be a lot harder for that many people to travel to the Room of Requirement without being seen. The entire session was taken up with administrative tasks, ensuring everyone understood the contract they had signed; determine what level they were currently at so a training schedule could be put together, and also distributing the coins.

After the session The New Marauders and Sirius met in the Founders Study to discuss what had happened during the session.

"Well there were certainly a lot of people there today," said Harry when they sat down.

"At least most of them seemed to get along, I saw a few people looking unhappy that the Slytherins where there but at least they didn't say anything. We will just have to watch them closely," added Ginny.

"We need to find a way for the different houses to get to the room without being discovered, if that many people arrive at the same time it will be impossible to keep it a secret," stated Fred.

"I think we are also going to have to break them into different groups, the age range of those there is so large that it would be impossible to teach them all at the same pace," Hermione added.

Harry thought about what had been said before responding.

"Okay, I think we will need to do the following. First we need to break them into four groups depending on skill level. That will allow those who learn faster to move up to the next group when they are ready. We will all learn the same spells so they won't be at a disadvantage when they move. Hermione I think you would be the best to organize that, put one of the couples in charge of each group.

"Ginny and I will talk with Godric Gryffindor to determine what we can do about getting into the room, from what he told us the school may be able to find a way.

"The rest of you need to start working on something for me, I managed to determine yesterday that Professor Umbridge is actually a Death Eater. We need to determine how often she is reporting back to Voldemort, and also find out as much as possible about her activities around the school," Harry told them all.

"Remember if she thinks that you are on to her then she may go on the offensive, we don't want her to find out until we are ready to make a move," continued Harry.

All of them headed off to start on the various activities they had been assigned. Harry and Ginny walked into the library to speak with Godric.

"Good evening, Harry," said Godric as they approached.

"Hi," replied Harry.

"You look deep in thought," stated Godric as they sat down.

"We need to find a way of allowing students from each house to get into the Room of Requirement without being discovered by others," replied Harry.

"Hmm, I take it that you have started the secret club that Dumbledore spoke about," responded Godric.

"Yes, Sir, we have a lot of people involved and realized that we would soon be discovered if they all appeared on the seventh floor at the same time," replied Harry still deep in thought.

"I believe that Hogwarts can provide a way for you to all get into the room. You will need to instruct the Room to provide entries on the stairwells of the common rooms, the problem is hiding them from everyone else," replied Godric.

"We do have coins that can alert everyone when a meeting is to take place, would the room be able to only allow access to anyone carrying a coin?" asked Harry.

"That may work, I take it you have a master coin?" Godric asked.

"Yes, we do," Harry replied looking excited.

"In that case the room should be able to tap into the magic that is connecting the coins. You would have to be in the room when you asked it to add the additional doors but it should work," responded Godric.

"I hope so, that would make things much easier."

They continued to talk to Godric about everything that had happened so far since returning to the school. They also told him about discovering that Umbridge was a Death Eater. Godric promised to keep a closer eye on her and would report back if he found out how she was communicating with him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Five weeks after returning to Hogwarts _The New Marauders_ were all sitting eating breakfast when a Weasel Patronus suddenly appeared telling them Molly had finally woken up from the attack in Diagon Alley.

A cheer was heard around the hall as many others who knew of the attack were pleased to hear that Molly was going to be okay.

Professor Dumbledore approached the Weasleys and Harry; he told them that they were excused from their lessons for the day so they could see their mother. Professor Umbridge wasn't too happy about this but wasn't able to do anything to stop Dumbledore, he suspected that this would change very soon as Umbridge had already forced several Educational Decrees upon them.

"Harry, I know that things are still not good between you and Ron Weasley but I think it would be good for Molly if he could join you," Dumbledore said hesitantly, and at the same time hoping that mentioning Mrs. Weasley would convince Harry quicker

"I don't know if the wards will allow him access, Professor," Harry told him honestly. "I will need to talk with Xavier to determine what access we can give him without risking the knowledge getting out."

"I understand, Harry," replied Dumbledore.

After several minutes of conversation with Xavier they formulated a plan that would allow Ron to see Molly without knowing his location. Once agreed the four Weasleys and Harry walked out of the Great Hall, as soon as they entered the Entrance Hall Xavier flashed in and they all disappeared to Potter Castle.

When they got there several other members of the Weasley family were already sitting around the bed talking to Molly. They spent the day talking with her and sharing news of what had happened while she was unconscious. They didn't want to overwhelm her so with the exception of Ron, who could not leave the room that Molly was in, the others made use of their time at Potter Castle to either be alone, or do some research.

* * *

Life at Hogwarts settled into an uneasy pattern for the next few weeks. Professor Umbridge did her best to disturb any lessons that she could by asking the Professors stupid questions about their past. She would then blame the Professors for not completing the lesson properly even when it was her fault.

Dumbledore's Army was a roaring success; once the students had been broken into smaller groups that were matched on skill they were able to learn quicker and progressed much faster than even the leaders had expected. They put this down to two things; first the learning environment that had been provided allowed them to develop as they needed instead of criticizing them when they didn't do well. The second reason was the desire to prove that Umbridge was a useless teacher.

Harry and Ginny were relaxing in a private bedroom in the Founders Study having just completed another DA session. Harry was massaging her feet as he often did causing her to moan with pleasure as the tension left her body.

' _We are going to have to take care of Umbridge before long,_ ' Ginny suddenly said.

' _Why?_ ' asked Harry.

' _Because based on how well DA is going the DADA exam results are going to be through the roof. If she is still teaching then the Ministry will try to place the credit with her for the changes and curriculum. The consequences could be terrible as they would try to impose the same on other subjects,_ ' Ginny replied.

' _Hmm, I can't believe we didn't think of that,_ ' Harry said suddenly very worried that this could have the opposite effect than they wanted.

' _As long as we take care of her early next year there will not be enough time for her to claim any credit,_ ' explained Ginny.

' _Hmm, I like how you think,_ ' replied Harry as his hand started moving up her thigh gently massaging it.

' _And I like where your hand is heading,_ ' replied Ginny mischievously.

' _Oh you do, do you. I don't believe that is a very appropriate thought for you to be having, young lady,_ ' mocked Harry as his hand crept further up her leg.

' _Well in that case, I don't think your hand is in a very appropriate place,_ ' replied Ginny before slapping it away playfully.

' _Your loss,_ ' replied Harry cheekily as he pulled his hand back to his chest and held it there.

' _Hmm, good point,_ ' replied Ginny as she pulled him into a long passionate kiss.

An hour later they left the Founders Study. They had been so busy recently that they had not found much time for each other, and while they had repeated what happened on their birthday's a few times they had not gone beyond that and still didn't feel ready despite having Molly's blessing.

* * *

Harry and Ginny were sitting the Great Hall enjoying dinner; Harry grabbed his goblet and took a long drink of the pumpkin juice to wash down the excellent shepherd's pie he had just finished.

' _I think we should start practicing our remaining Animagus forms,_ ' suggested Harry, as they continued their mental conversation that had been going all thru dinner.

' _That sounds like a good plan, she had been looking forward to finishing their training,_ ' replied Ginny happily.

' _Okay, we can spend the time when the others are catching up with their sword fighting so that we don't get too far ahead,_ ' Harry said.

Suddenly Harry collapsed and a golden glow surrounded him. Ginny could feel that his body was trying to fight something. She immediately dropped to the ground trying to comfort him; she pulled him close to her but didn't know what else to do.

' _Xavier, we need you,_ ' called Ginny in panic as she tried to hold Harry while he was writhing in agony.

Seconds Later Xavier and Fawkes flashed into the Great Hall and quickly disappeared with Harry and Ginny.

Seconds later they appeared in Harry and Ginny's bedroom at Potter Castle, almost immediately Maxim, Sandy and several other elves appeared to see if they could help Harry.

' _What's happening,_ ' asked a very worried Ginny.

Xavier seemed to study Harry for a while before responding, ' _There is a foreign substance in his blood stream, his magic is fighting it but it is draining him quickly. We need to find the source of the poison before it does any damage._ '

"Maxim, can you and Sandy go to Hogwarts and find the plate and goblet that Harry was using a dinner. I suspect that Hermione or one of the others would have already grabbed them," Ginny asked.

"Yes, Ginny, we will be back shortly," replied Maxim before disappearing with Sandy.

Ginny return to her conversation with Xavier, ' _I can't feel him through the bond._ '

' _As soon as he started fighting the poison the bonds to both of us closed, to protect us,_ ' replied Xavier.

' _I didn't think that was possible?_ ' asked Ginny as tears streamed down her face, the thought of losing Harry was overwhelming her.

' _It is Phoenix magic, it is a natural defense mechanism designed to protect a Phoenix´s mate. It normally only happens during the burning to shield the mate from the pain of losing their partner while they are reborn,_ ' explained Xavier.

Maxim quickly returned and explained that Sandy had taken the plate and goblet down to the Potions lab to test them. He also explained that Dumbledore was aware of the situation as Fawkes had returned to Hogwarts with the news.

Ginny had not taken her eyes off Harry since they arrived and noticed that he was starting to get weak. She was trying desperately to break through the block on the bond but wasn't making any progress.

* * *

Everyone watched in amazement as Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley disappeared from the Great Hall with a pair of Phoenixes.

As soon as Harry and Ginny disappeared the various members of _The New Marauders_ jumped out of their seats and immediately setup a perimeter around the table where Harry and Ginny had been eating. They didn't know what had happened but were not going to take any chances.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had already made their way to the spot but were helpless to do anything. They asked those around if they had heard or seen anything, all they learned was that Harry had taken a drink not long before collapsing.

A few minutes later Fawkes returned to the castle and landed in front of Professor Dumbledore.

' _Albus, Harry has been poisoned,_ ' explained Fawkes.

' _Do you know what it is?_ ' asked Dumbledore.

' _Not yet, Maxim and Sandy are on their way to investigate._ '

The two house-elves appeared next to Fawkes.

"Miss Hermione, we need to test the plate and goblet that Harry was using," Sandy told her.

"They are right here, no one has touched either and we placed a shield around them to stop any magic from affecting them either," replied Hermione.

Hermione quickly removed the shield and moment later Sandy disappeared with the items.

"Professor Dumbledore, if we find anything then we will return to question the house-elves," Maxim added before also disappearing.

"What will happen if one of them is involved?" asked Hermione.

"They will be executed," replied Dumbledore sadly.

"Why?" asked Hermione looking very upset at that news.

Dumbledore moved closer and whisper, "Because Harry is an heir of one of the founders."

Hermione wasn't too pleased but knew there was nothing she could do; the elf had betrayed an heir and therefore their master.

* * *

Back at Potter Castle, Sandy had returned to Harry's bedroom with the results of her tests.

"Sandy, what did you find?" asked Ginny as soon as she appeared.

"We tested the plate and goblet and found what looks like a love potion, however it doesn't match any known potion," replied Sandy unhappily.

"So it's a new potion?" asked Ginny with concern as that would make finding a cure harder.

"No, I think that whoever created it brewed it incorrectly, or deliberately changed it to hurt Harry."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"I have an antidote that should help Harry, however there is no guarantee that it will work due to the changes, we must find out who created it and why they changed it," Sandy told her.

Without thinking Ginny flashed directly to the Great Hall in Hogwarts, to cover her mistake Xavier and Fawkes flashed into the Hall at the exact same time diverting everyone's attention from the fact that Ginny wasn't with either of them.

Every ones attention was brought immediately to the Ravenclaw table when a very angry Ginny Weasley screamed "WHAT DID YOU DO?" at Cho Chang.

"Nnn-oo-th-ing," replied Cho meekly; clearly afraid of the power that was flowing off Ginny at the moment.

"Miss Weasley, I must insist that you calm down," said Dumbledore hoping that she would heed his warning.

"DON'T LIE TO ME," shouted Ginny having not heard a thing Dumbledore said. Her anger was growing rapidly and caused everything in the Great Hall to shake violently. The other Professors realized the danger and started herding the other students out as quickly as they could.

Ginny knew that Cho wasn't going to volunteer the information so she entered her mind and found what she needed. She could see that Cho had missed a critical step in the process which had caused the problems for Harry, and now she understood why his magic had acted the way it did because he was suddenly attracted to everyone in the Great Hall and it had overwhelmed his system.

Before Ginny could continue however she sensed a curse flying towards her, Professor Umbridge decided that since Dumbledore wasn't doing anything to stop her she would. Ginny quickly erected her Merlin shield and reflected the curse back at Umbridge who was so surprised at what had happened that she didn't even have time to avoid it before it hit her, knocking her out cold.

Before turning back to face Dumbledore Ginny bound and silenced Cho before she could say anything else.

"Maxim," Ginny called.

Seconds later Maxim appeared.

"She created the potion that poisoned Harry; one of the house-elves helped her by putting it in his drink this evening," Ginny explained bitterly. Maxim knew what needed to be done and disappeared.

"Professor Dumbledore, I will be returning to Harry to make sure he gets the antidote required. I suggest that you deal with that before we return," Ginny told him, while looking angrily at Cho. Moments later Xavier appeared and the two of them disappeared back to Potter Castle.

Once Ginny returned to Potter Castle she was able to advise Sandy what she had learned and they quickly came up with an anti-dote that would fix the problem. However they were not sure how long it would be before Harry fully recovered as he had drained a lot of his magical reserves fighting it. Once the potion has been administered Harry calmed down and fell into a deep coma, Ginny climbed into bed with him and reached out through the bond, and thankfully she found that the defense mechanism had been released once the antidote entered his system so she would be able to help him recover. What none of them realized however was that Ginny had also been pulled into the deep coma.

* * *

Dumbledore looked upon the scene in front of him with a worried expression. He fully understood Ginny's reaction to what had happened to Harry but knew there would be hell to pay when Umbridge woke up. He was tempted to Oblivate her but too many people had seen what happened and it would cause more problems for all concerned.

By this time the Great Hall had been emptied of all the other students, only The New Marauders and a few Professors remained. After a quick conference with the heads of house Dumbledore knew he had no choice and reluctantly turned towards Cho and sighed, he had hoped that she would have learned her lesson the previous two times that she had attempted to attract Harry's attention but alas here they were again.

"Miss. Chang, I am left with no choice but to expel you from Hogwarts. Attempting to seduce someone with a love potion is a serious crime. I will advise you one last time to stay away from Mr. Potter and Miss. Weasley," announced Dumbledore.

Professor Flitwick was upset at losing his Seeker but knew there was no other choice. At least they would now have a chance to find a new player and make them a permanent member of the team instead of only for one match.

"You can't prove anything," replied Cho smugly.

"Do not underestimate Mr. Potter and Miss. Weasley," warned Dumbledore.

Before Dumbledore could continue Maxim and Dobby appeared in the Great Hall carrying the body of another house-elf.

"Professor Dumbledore, this is the elf that helped Miss Chang poison Harry Potter," explained Dobby.

"What happened to him?" asked Dumbledore clearly upset.

"He broke his oath to always serve the best interests of our Master," explained Dobby causing some confusion to those who didn't know Harry was the heir of Gryffindor and therefore their master.

"What does he mean?" asked Professor Slughorn.

Dumbledore knew he would have to explain, but before proceeding however he cast several charms over Cho Chang so that she could not hear or see anything that happened next.

"What I am about to reveal to you must remain a complete secret until the time is right," Dumbledore told the Professor present. "I won't normally do this but I must have a Wizard's oath from each of you to that effect."

"What about them?" asked Slughorn as he pointed to Harry's friends.

"They already know and have made an oath to Harry not to reveal anything," replied Dumbledore.

The Professor's slowly consented and gave their oath. Before Dumbledore could proceed however Hermione spoke up, "Professor, I believe that Professor Umbridge should be removed from the Great Hall before you proceed. Also I believe it would be sensible for Xavier and Fawkes to check for any listening devices."

"Thank you, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said before proceeding to call on Fawkes.

' _Can you remove Umbridge to the Infirmary and make sure she cannot leave until we are ready to deal with her,_ ' Dumbledore told Fawkes.

' _Yes Albus,_ ' replied Fawkes before disappearing.

Meanwhile Hermione had called Xavier and was surprised when he actually appeared before her.

"Thank you, Xavier. Can you see if there are any listening devices around the Great Hall?"

Xavier nodded his head and proceeded to scan the hall, a few seconds later he flew up towards the ceiling and seemed to study something up there. Grabbing it in his talons he flew back down to Hermione and deposited the device upon the table.

Hermione quickly examined it and determined it was another trace device like the ones they had found on Kingsley and Arthur during the summer. She quickly deactivated it so they could continue talking and would then examine it further to determine where it was linked to.

"Thank you again, Miss Granger. It appears that we are going to have to be increasingly careful what we say and do. The fact that Fudge hadn't come to the school when Umbridge was not available indicates that this wasn't one of his devices which is another concern," Dumbledore said in shock.

"We should trace this later, Professor," Hermione advised him.

"Okay, backed to the matter at hand, basically Mr. Potter is the sole heir of Gryffindor and therefore under the original charter of Hogwarts is the master of the castle," Dumbledore explained to the shocked Professor's.

"What does that mean?" asked Slughorn even more confused.

"As you know Hogwarts isn't just a simple building; but it is very much alive due to the sheer amount of magic that holds it together. The school recognizes Mr. Potter as the rightful Heir and will basically allow him access to any room. That is all I can tell you, if Mr. Potter chooses to reveal more in the future that is up to him," Dumbledore told them.

Several other Professors asked questions but Dumbledore refused to answer and reminded them not to discuss it with anyone.

"We need to determine what to do about Miss Chang, obviously Miss Weasley believes that she is responsible for the attack on Harry but with the death of the elf we have no way to tie the potion back to her," replied Dumbledore unhappily.

"Then we need to find out where she brewed it," announced Hermione.

Before they could continue Dobby and Maxim disappeared from the Great Hall, and returned moments later with an army of house-elves.

"Professor Dumbledore, we will search the castle," announced Dobby before they all disappeared.

* * *

Harry looked around trying to determine what had happened, the last thing he remembered was eating dinner with Ginny and the others in the Great Hall.

"Where am I?" Harry asked not expecting an answer.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter," said an elderly man with long gray hair. Harry thought to himself that he looked remarkable like a shorter version of Dumbledore.

"Am I dead?" asked Harry in panic.

"No Mr. Potter, you are not dead, however you have entered a place that allows the dead to communicate directly with you," explained the gentleman.

"How, Where?"

"Someone gave you a love potion, due to your bond and Phoenix abilities your body automatically fought against the potion seeing it as a poison. Normally you would have been able to fight it easily, however the potion wasn't brewed correctly and instead of attracting you to one individual; you were attracted to everyone around you. Your natural instincts are to seek comfort from the one you love, Ginny, however in your confusion you were attempting to reach out to everyone and it overloaded your mind," explained the gentleman.

"If it hadn't been for the quick actions of your wife then things would have been a lot worse."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry nervously.

"When she realized that something was wrong she summoned Xavier and the three of you were all transported to Potter Castle. Because your body could only sense Ginny, Xavier and your elves, it didn't fight so hard to reach out and allowed it to focus on removing the potion."

Harry didn't respond for a while as he came to terms with what had happened, a few minutes later Ginny woke up too.

"Where are we?" asked Ginny in confusion.

"Welcome Mrs. Potter," replied the gentleman. "Now that you are both awake let me introduce myself properly I am your distant grandfather Merlin."

Both of them looked startled at the news, Ginny more so until she saw what had been said before she woke up.

"Why are we here?" asked Harry.

"It will soon be time for you to reveal your full heritage Mr. Potter to the Wizarding World," replied Merlin.

"Please call me Harry," replied Harry quietly, still in shock at what was happening to them.

"And Ginny," she added.

"Very well Harry and Ginny, come with me there are people waiting to see you," Merlin told them as he took them by the hands and lead them towards a door they hadn't seen earlier.

* * *

Professor Dumbledore was quietly talking with Professors McGonagall and Slughorn when a house-elf appeared before them.

"Professor Dumbledore," Blinky said excitedly. "We have found the potion, Sir."

"Thank you, lead the way," Dumbledore said as McGonagall and Flitwick followed.

Blinky led then directly to the Ravenclaw common room, once they entered the students moved to the side to allow them access to the girl's dormitories. They were expecting to go to the fifth year room, however when they got to the third floor Blinky led them into the room.

"Professor, we found the cauldron hidden in the wardrobe here," announced Blinky.

"Miss Walsh, please can you explain why this is hidden in your wardrobe," asked Dumbledore.

"I have never seen that before," replied Belinda Walsh.

Dumbledore could see that she was telling the truth, the cauldron had obviously been placed there recently. He approached the wardrobe very slowly looking for clues that may help him identify who had been tampering with it.

"When we the last time you checked the contents of your wardrobe?" Dumbledore asked as he examined the door with his magical glasses.

"When I got dressed this morning," Belinda replied.

Dumbledore was about to give up when he spotted a red mark near where the cauldron had been dumped. Upon closer inspection he determined that it was actually blood and immediately lifted the blood into a vial and sent it with Fawkes to the infirmary to be tested.

"Blinky, please can you take this cauldron to Professor Slughorn and ask him to examine the contents," Dumbledore ordered.

"Yes, Professor, Sir," replied Blinky before disappearing.

Once Blinky had left Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall left for the infirmary leaving Professor Flitwick with this students.

As they were walking Fawkes landed on Dumbledore's shoulder.

' _Albus, Xavier has just advised me that both Harry and Ginny have fallen into a very deep coma. They are not sure when they will wake up at the moment._ '

' _Thank you my friend, I assume that Maxim is taking care of everything for them,_ ' replied Dumbledore.

' _Yes, they are monitoring them constantly and ensuring their bodies are properly nourished. I must leave now, the Phoenix council has summoned me back, I will return as soon as I can._ '

' _Thank you my friend._ '

"What's happened, Albus?" asked McGonagall.

"Unfortunately Mr. Potter and Miss. Weasley have fallen into a deep coma, they are not certain at the moment how long they will be out for," explained Dumbledore as they neared the infirmary.

Both were deep in thought when they entered the infirmary, so much so that they didn't even notice Minister Fudge standing next to the imprisoned Umbridge.

"I want an explanation Dumbledore," demanded Fudge angrily.

"Good morning, Cornelius," replied Dumbledore calmly wishing he didn't have to deal with this right now.

"I demand that you release Undersecretary Umbridge immediately," continued Fudge.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Cornelius. Madam Umbridge attacked a student without warning," replied Dumbledore who was now getting very irritated.

"That's a lie; she was attempting to stop a student from attacking another because you refused to do anything about it. It is clear that you have lost control of this school and your students, I have no choice but to arrest you and place a competent person in charge," Fudge told him.

Dumbledore knew this day would come at some point, unfortunately he wasn't expecting to not have access to Fawkes when it did and was not contemplating having to fight his way out of the castle.

"Albus Dumbledore, you are under arrest for imprisoning a senior member of the Ministry, failing to protect the students under your care, and spreading lies about the return of he-who-must-not-be-named," announced Fudge with a large smile.

Eight Aurors approached Dumbledore nervously clearly hoping that he would not resist, they knew that even together he would be a challenge for them. Just as they reached him a flash of light filled the room, by the time everyone had recovered Dumbledore was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Molly Weasley had expected the worse when she was finally able to leave Potter Castle and return to the Burrow; it has been many months since she had last seen the house. Arthur had spent all his time with her or at work so he had not been back since the attack either.

She was therefore pleasantly surprised to find the house cleaner than it had ever been, it seemed that Harry or Ginny had asked Maxim to assign a couple of house elves to keep up the house while they were not there. They had also taken care of the chickens; she later learned that the eggs that she had been eating for the last several months had been delivered directly from the Burrow each morning.

She had always enjoyed keeping house and never considered having her own house elf but now that she had seen just how useful they were and how much they enjoyed serving she was torn. Deep down she still felt that it was her job to keep the house but was enjoying the free time that it gave her.

She had already completed all the Christmas sweaters and was busy enjoying her new hobby; for once Arthur had found a muggle invention that she immediately took to, she now spent many hours a day Scrapbooking.

It had not been an easy journey for her, the memories of her brothers were hard to handle and Arthur came home several times to find her in tears. However she found comfort in putting together the books of them growing up together and was finally able to accept that they had both died fighting for what they believed it.

Today she was finally starting on her own wedding; she was so caught up with sorting the pictures and preparing the pages that she didn't even notice when Maxim appeared in the room.

"Sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Weasley," said Maxim quietly so not to startle her.

Molly sprung into action when she heard the voice a second later had Maxim at the tip of her wand. When she realized who it was she let her wand drop back to her side, "I'm sorry, Maxim, I didn't know you where there."

"I shouldn't have surprised you like that," replied Maxim who was still a little amazed at how fast Molly had reacted, there was no doubt where Ginny got her agility and temper from.

"Is everything okay, Maxim? I am surprised to see you," asked Molly.

"I am sorry to inform that Harry and Ginny are currently at Potter Castle, they have fallen into a deep coma."

"What happened?"

"Someone attempted to poison Harry with a badly made Love Potion," replied Maxim calmly realizing that Molly was getting very upset.

"I need to tell Arthur," Molly said as she started to pace.

"I have already sent a message to him, Mrs. Weasley."

"Thank you, can you please take me to them?"

Maxim reached out his hand and they both disappeared to Potter Castle.

As soon as they arrived Molly rushed over to the bed to check on the two of them. She wasn't a qualified healer but knew enough to know from the monitoring charms around them that they were healthy except for the coma.

"We don't know how long they will be in the coma, the poison has been removed from Harry's system," Maxim explained.

"Thank you, we will stay in the castle until they wake up," Molly advised Maxim as several house elves administered potions to Harry and Ginny.

A few minutes later Arthur arrived, he had heard on his way out of the office that Fudge had attempted to arrest Dumbledore and was livid.

* * *

"Thank you, Xavier," Dumbledore said.

' _You're welcome, Albus,_ ' replied Xavier causing Dumbledore to stumble.

"How is that possible?"

' _Phoenixes can communicate with anyone who is bonded, however we would only do so in extreme emergencies. Fawkes told me that he had been summoned and asked me to watch over you while he was gone. I have done all I can for Harry and Ginny at the moment so was able to come to assist you,_ ' replied Xavier.

Dumbledore attempted to reply mentally but nothing happened.

' _It doesn't work both ways, you can only communicate with Fawkes in that way._ '

"How are Harry and Ginny?"

' _They are both in a coma at present, the poison has been removed from Harry's system and now all we can do is wait for them to wake up,_ ' Xavier replied as he settled on Fawkes's perch.

Dumbledore knew his time at Hogwarts was over at least for now, with Fudge gaining more and more power there was nothing he could do to stop him from forcing through the changes that he wanted. And with Harry currently in a coma they would not be able to play the heir of Merlin card.

He slowly started to pack his things; he didn't want Umbridge or Fudge to have access to some of the items that he kept in his office. Some of them while not dark would cause a lot of problem in the wrong hands.

"Albus," came the voice of Godric Gryffindor. "You don't need to worry about packing all your things, I have already sealed this office no one will be able to access this office except with the aid of a Phoenix."

Dumbledore chuckled to himself as he thought about the reaction of Umbridge when she tried to access the office.

"What's so funny?" asked Godric looking confused.

"Sorry, I was just imagining how Umbridge would react when she found the office sealed and wasn't able to break the seal," replied Dumbledore with mirth.

A number of the portraits laughed at his response before becoming sombre before. The Ministry had never attempting to interfere with the running of Hogwarts before and it did not go down well with none of the former heads.

Dumbledore grabbed a few of his personal things that he would need before turning once again to Xavier. "I think it is time for me to leave, Xavier, I must impose on you once again, please can you take me to Potter Castle?"

Xavier lifted into the air and seconds later Dumbledore left Hogwarts wondering if he would ever return as Headmaster.

* * *

"What's wrong?" asked Molly when she saw how angry Arthur was.

"Fudge has gone too far this time; he went to Hogwarts claiming that someone attacked Madam Umbridge. When he got there he attempted to arrest Dumbledore who has been forced out of Hogwarts," replied Arthur.

"What's going to happen now?" asked Molly.

"I don't know, Fudge has been trying to get control of Hogwarts for a long time, now that Dumbledore has been removed it will only be a matter of time before he places the school completely under the control of the Ministry."

Both of them were deep in thought for a few minutes considering the implications of what Fudge had done. Arthur then remembered why he was there in the first place, "How are Harry and Ginny?"

"They are in a coma at the moment, Maxim and the others are taking care of them, we just have to wait until they wake up. I have already told Maxim that we will be staying until they do," replied Molly.

"What happened to them?"

"Someone attempting to poison Harry with a love potion," Molly told him as they started towards the Harry and Ginny's room.

"That means that Fudge must have been monitoring Hogwarts already, there is no way he could have been told so quickly," replied Arthur with concern.

"That is correct, Arthur," said Dumbledore as he appeared in the room. "We found a trace device, similar to the one we found in your badge, in the Great Hall, however we didn't think it was linked to Fudge until he turned up so quickly. Professor Umbridge attempted to attack Ginny when she was confronting the student suspected of poisoning Harry. The attack failed because Ginny raised a reflective shield which caused the curse to fly back towards Umbridge."

"Why did Fudge fire you then?" asked Molly who was burning with anger.

"He has been trying to get rid of me for years; he now claimed that I was not protecting the students."

"That is outrageous," replied Molly as her anger continued to grow.

"Molly, I have to warn you that I strong suspect that Umbridge will attempt to have charges brought against Ginny," Dumbledore advised her knowing it was better to tell her now than wait for someone else to tell her.

Dumbledore had seen Molly Weasley angry on a number of occasions but today he wasn't ashamed to admit he was actually scared of her, he could see the power pouring off of her. Thankfully Xavier realized that Molly needed to let off some steam so took her to the training room, an hour later and many destroyed training dummies Molly calmly walked out of the room.

"Feeling better?" asked Arthur carefully when Molly returned to Harry and Ginny's room.

"Much better, that training room is very useful," she replied happily. Of course she forgot to mention that the room had made each of the dummies look like Umbridge.

"Excellent, Xavier has invited Albus to stay here at the castle until he can returned to Hogwarts," Arthur informed her.

* * *

"What happened?" asked Fudge when he finally recovered.

"Dumbledore escaped," replied one of the Aurors.

"I want an arrest warrant issued for Dumbledore," Fudge ordered angrily.

"Yes, Minister," replied the Auror before leaving the infirmary to carry out his orders.

Fudge then turned towards Madam Umbridge only to find her still trapped, he waved his wand towards the barrier expecting it to just drop at his command but nothing happened. Several of the Auror also attempted to remove the barrier but again nothing happened.

"Madam Umbridge, I hereby declare that effective immediately you are the new Headmistress of Hogwarts," announced Fudge.

"Thank you, Minister. Unfortunately the previous Headmaster allowed the students too much liberty, we will need to instigate some more Educational Decree's to bring the standards back to an acceptable level," responded Umbridge.

"Now as Headmistress I command Hogwarts to remove the barrier," she demanded.

Fudge and Umbridge looked around in confusion as the barrier remained as strong as before.

"Why didn't that work?" asked Fudge. "Once you became Headmistress you should have had full control of the school."

Umbridge wasn't able to answer, she was just as confused.

"Auror, contact Gringotts and tell them to send us a curse breaker immediately or face the wrath of the Ministry," demanded Fudge.

"Yes, Minister," he replied before disappearing.

* * *

Professor McGonagall had cancelled classes for the morning, it was pointless to try and resume a normal schedule with the forced departure of Dumbledore and now the situation in the infirmary; the last thing she wanted was a student getting caught up in what was happening.

She asked the elves to deliver lunch to each of the common rooms where the students were quietly doing their homework or just relaxing.

She had also been forced to remove Cho Chang from the Great Hall; she had already been advised that Umbridge would be the new Headmistress so the problem had not fallen to her thus leaving her with the mess.

McGonagall had already received a message from Dumbledore telling her that he was staying with Harry and Ginny but could not reveal any more information; he also told her that they would not be returning for a while due to the coma. McGonagall passed the information to the other Professor's so they would not be surprised when they were not at their classes.

* * *

Bill Weasley slowly made his way into Hogwarts; he was already aware of the situation and had insisted that Gringotts send him, once he explained to Ranok what had happened to Harry he was only to happy to send Bill and then order the other curse breakers back to Egypt.

"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall," Bill said as he entered the entrance hall.

"Good afternoon, William," she replied with a large smile when she realized why he was there.

"Minister Fudge ordered Gringotts to send a curse breaker; I was the only one available at the time."

"Ah yes, it seems that we have a situation with our new Headmistress," McGonagall advised him as they walked towards the infirmary.

As they were walking towards the infirmary they ran into _The New Marauders_ walking around the castle despite being told to stay in there common room.

"Hey, Bill, what are you doing here?" asked Fred.

"Apparently they have not been able to free Umbridge and ordered Gringotts to send over a curse breaker. I was the only one available," Bill told them with a smirk.

"Well I certainly hope that you are able to do your job," replied Fred before dissolving into laughter.

"I am certain I will be able to... eventually!"

"Have you heard anything from Harry or Ginny?" asked Hermione who was very concerned that they had not heard from them.

"Yes, Mum is with them at the moment, they are in a deep coma and no one knows when they will wake up," Bill told them.

"As much as I would love to allow you to continue with the small talk I must escort Mr. Weasley to the infirmary and the rest of your need to get back to your common room before I am forced to remove points," McGonagall told them.

"Yes, Professor," they replied before walking off, at least they knew some more, even if it wasn't really good news.

Bill and McGonagall finally arrived in the infirmary to see a very angry Umbridge pacing behind the barrier, Fudge and the remaining Aurors were still attempting to remove the barrier but so far had not even made a dent in it.

"Good afternoon, Minister Fudge," Bill said. "Gringotts asked me to assist you today; I was the only curse breaker available."

"Well get on with it then," barked Fudge rudely.

"Before I do, we need you to sign this parchment stating that Gringotts will not be held responsible for any damage caused by attempting to remove the barrier," Bill told him.

Fudge being his incompetent self didn't even bother reading the parchment and just signed it. Bill quickly made two copies of the signed parchment; he sent the original back to Gringotts, one of the copies to Potter Castle, leaving the other for Fudge.

Bill started working on the barrier; he knew that there was nothing he could do but was going to make this last as long as possible.

Four hours later the barrier was still as strong as ever and Fudge was beginning to believe that Bill was not trying his hardest to remove it. "What is taking so long?"

"Minister, this barrier was created using Phoenix magic," Bill replied as he continued to play with the barrier with different spells that none of those present had ever heard of.

"I don't care what it was created with, remove it now or I will have you arrested," Fudge responded angrily.

As he finished speaking several heavily armed Goblins arrived in the room and stood between the Minister and Bill.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Fudge.

"They are here to protect me," explained Bill. "You have threatened to arrest a worker of Gringotts while he is carrying out a contract which the Goblins do not take kindly too."

"Get these half breeds out of Hogwarts immediately," Fudge ordered.

No sooner had he finished the statement then he found himself on his back with a Goblin spear at his neck. The Aurors looked carefully at the situation and knew it was pointless to do anything, the Goblins where heavily armed and it was Fudge's fault that he was in this predicament in the first place.

"Minister Fudge, I strongly suggest that you apologize to these Goblins immediately," Bill told them as he spoke quietly to the leader.

"I will do no such thing, Aurors arrest this Goblin," Fudge replied.

The Auror's didn't move an inch; they would rather lose their jobs than their lives.

"Minister Fudge, I have convinced the Goblins to release you, I suggest that you keep your mouth shut until they leave," Bill told him before the Goblin moved away to allow him to stand up.

Thankfully Fudge heeded Bill's advice and kept his mouth shut after that.

Finally the Phoenix barrier disappeared; Bill had been working on it for almost five hours when Xavier finally removed it.

Before Fudge or Umbridge could say anything Ranok appeared in the room with several more heavily armed Goblins.

"Good afternoon, Minister Fudge," Ranok said.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Fudge.

"I am here to collect payment for our services and to ensure that none of my staff has been threatened or attacked," Ranok replied with a toothy smile.

"What are you talking about? I never agreed to pay you," Fudge replied angrily.

"Is this not your signature, Minister?" asked Ranok as he showed him the parchment he had signed.

"Yes, but that was only to state that Gringotts would not be held responsible for any damages."

"Now, now, Minister, you really should read a contract before you sign it. It quite clearly states that you will pay one million Galleon's per hour for our services and fifteen million when the barrier is removed," announced Ranok with glee.

"Twenty million Galleons," chocked Fudge in desperation.

"That is correct, Minister, with payment due at completion of the task."

"But the Ministry cannot afford that," replied Fudge stupidly.

"Well then you shouldn't have signed the contract," replied Ranok matter of factly.

Fudge knew that he had been cornered, there was no point denying it as they had the signed copy and Fudge knew for certain that there was at least one more copy, in addition attempting to destroy a Goblin made contract was tantamount to declaring war on the Goblins.

As they were waiting to see what would happen next a large team of Aurors arrived. It seemed that someone had sent a message to the Ministry explaining what was happening and claiming that the Goblins where attempting to cause trouble.

"It seems, Ranok, that we are at an impasse," announced Fudge happily believing that he had superior numbers and that the Goblins would not try and start something.

"This is not over, effective immediately all Ministry accounts at Gringotts are frozen," replied Ranok with a toothy grin, moments later the Goblins and Bill Weasley left Hogwarts.

Fudge realized his mistake immediately and knew that it would be public knowledge soon enough as no one would be paid if the issue was not resolved quickly.

* * *

Professor McGonagall had been summoned by the new Headmistress who didn't appear to be able to access her new office.

"Headmistress, you sent for me?" asked McGonagall politely.

"Yes, Dumbledore has obviously used Dark Magic to seal this office," spat Umbridge angrily. "I want to know everything that Dumbledore did when he was Headmaster."

"I am not privy to everything that the Headmaster did when he was here," replied McGonagall calmly.

"Don't lie to me, I know you two have been working together to overthrow the Ministry," replied Umbridge as she attempted to access McGonagall's mind with Legilimency.

"How dare you," shouted McGonagall before hitting her with a powerful stunner that sent Umbridge sprawling across the corridor.

It was quite awhile later when Umbridge finally woke up from the stunner, despite the fact that several Professor's had walked past and saw her lying there.

Umbridge marched immediately to find McGonagall; she wasn't going to allow her to get away with this. Without bothering to know who was in the office she blasted open the door to McGonagall's office and marched in.

"I should have you arrested for attacking me," announced Umbridge.

"If you must, I would be happy to testify in court that you illegally attempted to enter my mind," replied McGonagall with a smirk.

Umbridge looked around the room while she considered her options; she spotted Cho Chang sitting in the corner and decided that if she couldn't get even with McGonagall she would at least thank the person that removed Potter from the castle.

"Miss Chang, I am sorry you have been detained for so long. As there is no evidence that you were involved in the attack on Harry Potter today, I am pleased to say that you can return to your classes. If anyone attempts to punish you for this please let me know and I will deal with them immediately," Umbridge announced.

"Headmistress you are mistaken, we found a cauldron and blood that clearly links the attack on Mr. Potter to Miss Chang," stated McGonagall angrily.

"That is of no importance, I am the headmistress now and have declared that Miss Chang may remain at the school," replied Umbridge smugly.

"Thank you Headmistress," replied Cho before racing out of the room before anyone could stop her.

"Professor McGonagall, you are to inform me immediately when Weasley or Potter returns to Hogwarts," Umbridge said before leaving the office.

Umbridge gave up attempting to get into Dumbledore's office and instead started implementing the changes that she had been planning for a long time and now that she was Headmistress had the authority.

* * *

The next morning the Daily Prophet was full of news of what had happened at Hogwarts.

 _ **Albus Dumbledore fired, arrested warrant issued  
By Joanne Seeker**_

 _ **Minister Fudge announced this morning that Albus Dumbledore has been fired as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and has been replaced by Madam Umbridge.**_

 _ **The Minister was quoted as saying "Albus Dumbledore was found to be negligent in his job; he failed to fully protect the students at the school, failed to punish students for attacking senior members of staff."**_

 _ **In addition we have learned that an arrest warrant has been issued for Albus Dumbledore for evading arrest and spreading lies in an attempt to overthrow the ministry.**_

 _ **In related news an arrest warrant has also been issued for Ginevra Molly Weasley for attacking Madam Umbridge and for an attack on another student.**_

 _A/N: I know I didn't really explain what happened with the Cauldron, they did find evidence that linked it to Cho but as you saw Umbridge over-ruled Dumbledore's expulsion._


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Harry and Ginny followed Merlin through the door that had appeared in the room not sure what to expect on the other side.

As soon as Harry walked through the door he noticed something speeding towards him, before he could react he was pulled into a bone crushing hug that rivalled any he had received from Molly Weasley.

Despite the fact that Harry had spent a lot of time with his parent's portraits, while at Potter Castle, it wasn't the same as actually meeting her for the first time in the person. Harry was extremely grateful for the bond at this point as Ginny was able to help him handle the raw emotions that he was experiencing as he was embraced by his mum for the first time that he could remember.

"Mum, I can't believe it is really you," said Harry with tears streaming down his face.

"Oh Harry," Lily responded as she hugged him harder still. "I have missed you so much, Harry. There is so much I want to tell you but I don't even know where to start."

"You don't have to say anything; it was Peter's entire fault that we couldn't be together. I know you didn't want me to grow up with Petunia but neither of us had a choice in what happened," said Harry showing much more maturity than expected.

James had finally joined them, "Hello, Harry." James looked at his son for a long time before hugging him too; he was fighting hard to stop the tears from flowing but in the end he gave up and let the emotions flood over him too.

"I got him, dad," was all Harry could say.

"I know and I am very proud of you, Harry. You did what needed to be done but you didn't like having to do it; unlike the monsters you have to face," James told him with pride. They continued to hug for several more minutes before Harry remembered that Ginny was waiting for them.

"Mum, Dad, I would like to introduce you to my beautiful wife Ginny."

"Hello, Ginny, I want to thank you for everything you have done for Harry," Lily said as she pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "I always knew you would find each other when the time was right. Although I have to agree with my portrait I have no clue where Harry got his romantic side from as it wasn't his father."

The three of them burst into laughter at the hurt look on James' face.

"Sorry, dad, but from what Remus and Sirius have told me I have to agree," added Harry causing more laugher.

The four Potters continued to talk for several hours catching up with everything that had happened since the portraits were created. It was then that Harry spotted several other people that he had only seen in the various portraits around Potter Castle but never really spoke to.

He was very surprised to see one person standing slight to the side, it was obvious that he was worried by Harry's reaction so didn't want to approach.

"Severus, is that you?" asked Harry as he approached the man.

"Yes, Harry," replied Severus Snape who still had is trademark greasy hair.

' _You would think he would do something about it now,_ ' commented Ginny through the bond when she spotted who Harry was talking to.

This caused Harry to snort with laughter which confused Snape a little.

"I have to be honest I am quite surprised to see you," Harry said a moment later.

"I know I didn't treat you well when you first came to Hogwarts, but in the end you helped me more than you may have ever realized. Plus when I first got here I almost wished I could go back, your mother read me the riot act for so long that I thought it would never end," Snape replied kindly.

"Well, what can I say, never get on the wrong side of a red-head," replied Harry with a smile.

' _I heard that, Potter,_ ' came the voice of Ginny in mock outrage.

"I guess Mrs. Potter heard that," said Snape with a knowing smile.

"Yep, oh well, I guess I will be sampling the couch for a couple of days."

"I am sure your father could help you with that and maybe give you some advice," replied Snape with an even bigger smile.

"Tell me about it."

As they continued to talk Ginny approached them and snaked her arms around Harry lovingly.

"Hello, Mrs Potter," Snape said. "I wanted to thank you and Harry for the tribute you paid with the eternal flame, it was a lot more than I deserved."

"Please, Severus, it's Ginny. That's not true, you showed your try loyalty when it mattered the most. Having seen how badly Tom treats his followers I can imagine just how hard it was for you to have to pretend to serve him," replied Harry.

"And that is why you will win this war, Harry. The Dark Lord doesn't understand love he thinks it is a weakness. It was Lily's love that not only saved you, Harry; but me also. Even though I lost her to your father it was still the love I had for her that allowed me to escape from the clutches of Tom."

"Thank you," replied Harry kindly before heading off to find his parents again.

As they were talking two red-heads approached Harry and Ginny.

"Ginevra?" asked one of them.

"Yes," replied Ginny in shock as they looked remarkably like her mother.

"Hello, I am your uncle Gideon and this is your uncle Fabian," Gideon said before showing Ginny where her mother's hugs came from.

Ginny wasn't able to speak, she had heard stories of her uncles but never expected to meet them in her lifetime. They continued to hug for a while before Fabian pulled to himself and hugged her too. She had tears streaming down her face, it was then that she was just as grateful for the bond as Harry had been earlier; she could feel the love pouring through it as she came to terms with the fact that she was facing her Uncles for the first time.

"It really is you," she said a while later.

"Yes, Firefly," Gideon said using a phrase that Arthur used regularly. "We have been watching over you since you were born, we had a big celebration up here when you kissed Harry for the first time."

Ginny blushed prettily at Gideon's comment before suddenly asking, "Just how much do you watch?"

"Don't worry, we don't watch what happens when you and Harry are alone together," replied Gideon with a smile.

Ginny relaxed a little, she didn't even want to think about her uncles watching the things that they got up to when they were alone. They continued to talk for some time about the family before Fabian turned to Harry.

"Harry, we want to thank you for all that you have done for our family. If you had not risked your life to save Ginny then we don't even want to think about what would have happened. It was bad enough when Tom rose to power first time, it would have destroyed the family if he had risen to power again because of what happened with the diary."

"I couldn't leave her down there, I know I didn't have a clue how I felt about Ginny until my fourth year but something inside told me that I had to help her," replied Harry honestly.

"It was your soul, Harry, even though you didn't realize it at the time your soul knew that Ginny's soul was its mate, and the need to protect her was strong enough that it compelled you to act. But that isn't all you did for them, you helped the twins to realize their true potential and despite what Ron did he has grown because of you too," Fabian replied again.

"Molly has been like a mother to me, she was there for me when no one else was," Harry told them.

"She always did have a big heart," replied Gideon

"Yes, she is an amazing woman," added Fabian.

"No arguments there," added James and Lily who had joined them.

The six of them spoke late into the evening, reliving some of the adventures that Harry and Ginny had been in either as a couple or when the Golden Trio existed and learning more about their families than they ever would from books.

Even in the afterlife people still needed to sleep, Harry and Ginny where both exhausted from meeting their families, Ginny had fallen asleep in Harry's lap as they were talking with her Uncles.

James noticed Ginny was asleep and showed Harry to the bedroom they would be using, "Goodnight, Harry, I will see you in the morning your training will start then."

Harry placed Ginny carefully into the bed before climbing in beside her and pulling her close, he quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Cho could not believe that the Love Potion had not worked; Harry Potter should have been her boyfriend by now. She had gone over the formula several times in her mind; she had not missed a step, unless Umbridge had not given her the correct formula.

She had never been comfortable with the agreement she had made with Umbridge, ever since that day in Diagon Alley when Ginny had attacked her she had been plotting how to steal Harry away from Ginny. She had ruled out killing Ginny as she wanted to be able to gloat and boast when Harry woke up and realized what a tart Ginny really was.

May be it was time to take much more drastic measures to get Harry. As she walked slowly back to the common room she suddenly realized what she needed to do.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this before," she said to herself as she walked through the portrait hole.

She quickly approached Michael Corner who was finishing his homework.

"Michael, I have an opportunity for you," Cho said quietly.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you have been chasing after Ginny Weasley recently, how would you like to go out with her?" asked Cho with a devious smile.

"Everyone knows that she is dating Harry Potter, are you seriously suggesting I go up against him?"

"You don't need to worry about Potter, all you need to do is kiss her when he is watching and he will believe that she is cheating on him," said Cho with glee.

"Do you honestly think Potter is that stupid, they have been almost inseparable since the Yule Ball," replied Michael in disbelief.

"I am sure you can make it look believable, he just has to have some doubts and his pride will do the rest," replied Cho.

"I am not so sure," replied Michael hesitantly. He had seen how angry Ginny was in the Great Hall.

"Fine if you won't do it than I will find someone else who is interested in her, but don't blame me if they end up with her and you are left with nothing," replied Cho smugly; she knew Michael was too caught up in his feelings to let the opportunity pass by.

"Okay I will do it, when they return to Hogwarts I will do it as soon as possible," replied Michael before returning to his room.

Now all she needed to do was talk to Umbridge so that she didn't have Ginny arrested before the plan could be completed. She wrote a quick message to Umbridge requesting a meeting the next day and then disappeared to her room to plan out how she was going to win Harry's heart by comforting him.

From the shadows of the common room another Ravenclaw made her way to her dorm, she had witnessed the whole conversation and was already plotting how to use this to the Dark Lord's advantage.

* * *

The next morning Ginny woke up first, at first she wondered where she was before remembering what had happened the day before. She knew that they would have to get up soon to start the training that Merlin had talked to them about; however she decided to wake her husband first.

It wasn't long before Harry was awake he quickly realized what was happening and decided to reciprocate, it wasn't long before they were both completely satisfied.

They walked out of their room an hour later hand in hand to find the others.

"Good morning," James said with a knowing smile as he had walked passed the room and found it sealed earlier, at least one of them had thought to seal the door.

"Morning," they replied happily.

"Harry, Ginny you have seen most of the memories I have left you, there are some important ones that you still need to review. These memories will prepare you for what you must face soon," explained Merlin.

"In addition a lot has happened since I created those memories that you will need to know, Fudge has done a lot to protect himself. In order to win this war you need to ensure the changes he has made are reversed, failure to do so will be disastrous to the Wizarding World.

"Over the next couple of days we will teach you what we can to prepare you, there are several other people you will need to meet before you are finished," Merlin told them.

"Thank you," replied Harry. "When can we get started?"

"No time like the present," replied Merlin.

"As I told you in my letter I foresaw the time of great darkness that was coming, to prepare for this not only did I create the memories that you have seen, I also created the laws that govern everything that happens in the Wizarding World. Included in those laws were safeguards that could never be reversed, these safeguards meant that when my true heir was revealed he would be able to overturn any changes that were not in the best interests of the Wizarding World.

"In order to do this however you will have to not only reveal your true heritage but also your marriage to Ginny. Even then there will be some who will try to challenge your claim; you will have to deal with those challenges in the time honoured fashion."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"If anyone challenges your claim then you will have to duel them," explained Merlin. "At the time the laws were created that was how challenges were resolved."

"Godric will train you on the proper etiquette for official duels, there are more rules than most wizards are aware of," added Merlin happily.

"When will the duel be over?" asked Harry hoping that he would not have to kill anyone.

"Harry, the duel will be to the death," replied Merlin carefully.

"Once the challenges have been dealt with you can start to make the necessary changes. The first thing will be to call for a vote of no confidence for the current leadership of the Wizarding Government; this will require a vote were a majority will be needed.

"You will also be able to nominate people to fill any posts that are vacated by the vote. Once the new leadership is in place you will need to ensure that all the laws that have been created are reviewed, any that are biased against the various magical creatures need to be removed.

"Now it is critical that you do not make sweeping changes without involving the legitimate members of the new government, if you attempt to overturn all the laws without having an agreement then people will start to have resentment against you and will then be less willing to follow your lead.

"I would suggest that you create several teams of influential people who can review the laws in question and then make proposals for dealing with them. You should also create a team who advises you on matters of importance, you already have a very good network of strong people available to you. Use them well and you will succeed, fail to use them and your failure will be devastating to the Wizarding World.

"You will find that you have many allies among the magical creatures, each of who are ready to follow the true heir, even now the Goblins are working to support you and will declare their support for you when the time comes.

"It is no accident that you are a Phoenix either, Harry. As you know Phoenix magic is far more powerful than any other form of magic that the world has known, the Phoenixes have been around much longer than any other magical creature and for the first time in their history they have allowed a human to become one with them. Harry they know that if Tom was to win the war that eventually he would find a way to control them too, and if he did then there would be no hope for anyone.

"Ginny and you are the key to uniting all the magical creatures behind a common cause.

"Tom believes that the Giants will side with him in the war, what he doesn't know is that the Giants have a deep respect for Phoenixes. When they discover what you are they will follow you, they are a proud race and have been hurt badly by the restrictions placed on them by wizards.

They spent the rest of the day talking about the various magical creatures around the world. They were joined by various members of their family who had knowledge of the creatures. By the end of the day Harry and Ginny were complete exhausted and quickly retreated to their room and fell asleep.

* * *

The Death Eaters had gathered at Voldemort hide out, they had not been able to find any of the items so far and knew they would need additional help.

"Friends, it is time for us to get additional help," Maxwell Jones said.

"What do you have planned?" asked another of the Death Eaters.

"I believe our only option is to breakout the Death Eaters who have been locked up in Azkaban," Maxwell said.

"Are you crazy? How are we going to get around the Dementors" another Death Eater announced.

"We don't need to, they have pledged their loyalty to our Lord, they have offered to help us in return for giving them freedom to attack anyone on the mainland," Maxwell said.

"Are you sure?" asked the Death Eater again.

"Yes, the Dark Lord asked them to stay at Azkaban until he needed them; because he hasn't been available they have been stuck there. They agreed to help as long as we bring them to the mainland and let them feed."

"Will we be able to control them?" asked the Death Eater again.

"They have promised to only attack Muggles at the moment. Once our Lord returns they will again follow his orders," replied Maxwell.

"When are we going to do this?" asked the Death Eater who was not excited at the prospect of getting more help.

"In the next couple of days, we need to finalize the plan and make sure we have enough transports to get everyone off the island quickly," Maxwell informed them. "I will summon you when we are ready, make sure you are there quickly as we want to go in quickly and quietly."

* * *

The next morning Merlin was waiting for them already.

"As you know Tom Riddle has gone further than anyone else in his attempts to become immortal, it is ironic that the one thing that could have allowed him to achieve his dreams is the one thing that he will never be able to understand or embrace.

"It is the thing that saved you the night Tom attempted to kill you and the one thing that brought you and Ginny together. The love that Ginny and you share is the purest love ever seen in the human realm and is what allowed you to become Phoenixes."

"So what can we do to stop Tom?" asked Harry.

"The only way to defeat Tom is to find the six pieces of his soul that were split and make sure they are destroyed. Once each of them has been destroyed he will be mortal again and can be destroyed. Two have already been destroyed, the first being the diary that attempted to possess Ginny, the second was inside you and was destroy when you bonded with Ginny," explained Merlin.

"What do you mean in me?" asked Harry in panic.

"When the Killing curse rebounded on Tom his soul was in such a state that part of it split off and entered into you. No one understands why it happened, however we do know that it was destroyed when you bonded. What was even more unexpected however was that the link to his mind remained after the soul segment was destroyed," Merlin told him.

"The door?" asked Harry without really needing an answer.

"Yes, the door," replied Merlin deep in thought.

"The good news is that Tom will never be able to access your minds via the door, especially as Xavier has placed wards around it, however even before that due to your love for each other he would not have been able to handle it," explained Merlin.

"But how come we can enter his mind then? If he cannot handle entering ours I am surprised he can handle us entering his?"

"That is the mystery, from what we know he should have been badly hurt when you first entered his mind. However from what we have determined he isn't even aware that you have access," replied Merlin still deep in thought.

"There is still a lot we don't understand about this situation, no one has ever gone to such extremes to attempt to become immortal, the fact that Tom removed his own memories and stored them in a secure place just really tells you just how paranoid he is that someone will discover what he has done.

"Merlin, is there a way for us to trace the soul elements?" asked Harry.

"Not using human magic, that is why Horcruxes have been preferred by most Dark Lords," replied Merlin. "I would suggest talking to Xavier and Fawkes when you return to determine if there is any way of doing it with Phoenix magic."

"We have been able to determine that Tom used various artefacts of the Founders for the Horcruxes and we strongly believe that he would have used places of importance to him to hide them. Unfortunately that is all we can tell you about them."

They continued to discuss the Horcruxes for several more hours before Harry and Ginny had to leave to train with Godric.

* * *

Umbridge had had enough, Ginny Weasley had not been at school since the incident with Harry Potter and no one was telling her where she had gone. She knew that Weasley was close to Potter but this was unacceptable.

She summoned Professor McGonagall to her office to get some answers.

"Good afternoon, Headmistress," said McGonagall bitterly.

"Thank you for coming," replied Umbridge acting as thou the request has been optional. "I have been advised the Miss Weasley has not been in school since Mr. Potter was taken ill in the Great Hall."

"That is correct," replied McGonagall.

"Where is she?"

"Mrs. Weasley contacted me to say that she had been taken ill after the attack on Mr. Potter and would not be returning until she had recovered," lied McGonagall who knew what had really happened.

"Why was I not informed of this before?" asked Umbridge angrily.

"I didn't believe it was necessary to bring you this news, since Miss. Weasley is in my house and therefore under my care," replied McGonagall.

"Miss. Weasley is responsible for the attack on me in the Great Hall as well as another student. I believe this is just a façade to stop her from being arrested, I will advise Minister Fudge immediately that her family is aiding in her escaping from justice and make sure they are properly dealt with," Umbridge told her before disappearing into her Floo connection.

"Good afternoon, Minister," Umbridge said politely when she entered his office.

"Good afternoon, Madam Umbridge, what brings you to my office?"

"I am here regarding the Weasley girl, she has not returned to the school since the attack. I spoke with McGonagall and she claims that Miss Weasley was taken ill. I believe this is just a ploy to stop her from being arrested and brought to justice," Umbridge announced.

"Indeed, I will talk to Arthur Weasley and get to the bottom of this," replied Fudge happily, he had been trying to get something he could use against Arthur for a long time.

"Mr. Weasley, please can you inform your father that I would like to meet with him immediately," Fudge told Percy as he escorted Umbridge out of his office.

"Yes, Minister," replied Percy as he disappeared from the reception area.

Moments later Percy arrived in his father's office and informed him that Fudge was looking for him and asking about Ginny. Arthur wasn't sure what to think of this, it was none of the Ministry's business and he wasn't happy that they were interfering. They made their way to the Minister's office without talking, both deep in thought.

"Good afternoon, Minister Fudge," Arthur said as he entered the office.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley. Thank you for coming, I would like to discuss the situation regarding your daughter," Fudge said without wasting any time.

"What situation?" asked Arthur.

"As you are well aware, Mr. Weasley, there is an outstanding arrest warrant out for your daughter and she seems to have disappeared. We can only conclude that you are trying to hide her from justice," replied Fudge.

"That is not the case, she has been taken ill and is currently being treated," replied Arthur.

"In that case you won't mind if we send a ministry assigned Healer to verify what you have said?" Fudge asked clearly indicating it wasn't really an option.

"That is not possible," replied Arthur uncomfortably.

"Why is that?"

Arthur was hesitant to respond, he knew he could not reveal the location but just revealing that she was at a secure location would cause questions. He also knew that the minister would not be happy without an answer but he decided that Harry and Ginny's safety was more important.

"I cannot reveal that information," replied Arthur.

"I demand this instant that you tell me where is your daughter," said Fudge angrily.

Arthur refused to respond, he had not committed any crimes and wasn't required to reveal the information, however he wasn't stupid and knew there would be consequences for not answering.

"Then you leave me no choice, Mr. Weasley effective immediately you are fired. Auror Shacklebolt please escort Mr. Weasley directly out of the Ministry," Fudge ordered.

Arthur and Kingsley made their way out of the building without saying a word, once outside Arthur Apparated directly to Potter Castle and advised Molly and Dumbledore what had happened.

* * *

"Good afternoon," Godric Gryffindor said as Harry and Ginny walked into his office.

"Good afternoon, Godric," they replied.

"It is good to finally meet you both," Godric said fondly.

"And you," replied Ginny.

They spent most of the afternoon talking about everything that had happened in the Wizarding World since Godric had passed on, and as with his parents they learned a lot more than they could have from the portrait.

Before they left for the evening Godric outlined his plan for them.

"I am going to spend a few days teaching you everything you will need to know about the ancient dueling laws, most of them have been forgotten but are still in effect today and will give you a critical advantage."

"Before you say anything I am not talking about advantage in terms of winning a duel there is no doubt there. I am talking about you setting the rules such that when you win certain things will happen."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"We will cover more of this tomorrow, but you will find there are different types of duels. And depending on who is making the challenge there are different outcomes, different rules for what is allowed etc," Godric explained.

"I suggest that you get some rest and we will continue this tomorrow," Godric added before retiring to his room.

Harry and Ginny returned early the next morning to continue their discussion.

"Good morning," they said as they walked into Godric's office.

"Morning," Godric replied while offering them a seat.

"The first thing you need to understand is how to respond to a challenge, the wording of your response can determine the outcome of the duel as well as the rules that will apply.

"It is important to understand the type of duel the person is requesting; there is nothing wrong with asking them to repeat the challenge.

"The most common duels are made to resolve a dispute between two people, in this situation once the duel is over whatever was in dispute will be resolved in favour of the winner. The duel ends when one of the duellers is disarmed or disabled.

"Now in your case Harry anyone challenging your heritage will automatically be declaring a duel to the death. There is no way around this; to question someone's heritage is the most serious insult in the Wizarding World especially if you have already proven it by showing your family rings. That doesn't mean that you have to kill the person, you and Ginny have a huge advantage over anyone else because of your Merlin shield," Godric told them.

"When it comes to the prisoners you have at Potter Castle you will be challenging them to a duel for their freedom based on their crimes. This again is a duel to the death and there is no way around it if you are going to challenge them. I strongly suggest you only do so for those who have killed or committed sexual crimes.

"You need to be aware of what will happen when someone wins a death duel. If the person who challenges or is challenged is the head of the family then the winner will become the head of the family. When that happens you must decide what happens to the spouse and any children, if there are any."

"What do you mean?" asked a concerned Harry.

"In the case of the spouse you must decide if you wish to take them as your mistress or release them from the marriage contract. Of course if they are guilty of any crimes then they should be punished appropriately. For the children you must decide what happens to them, if you release the spouse then they can go with them, if the spouse is punished then appropriate care will need to be arranged. As with the others anyone who has committed crimes willingly should be punished," explained Godric.

"This is all so complicated," replied Ginny who didn't like the mistress concept one bit.

' _Don't worry, Gin, that would never happen,_ ' Harry reassured her having seen her thoughts.

' _I know you wouldn't do that, but still it is rather barbaric,_ ' replied Ginny.

' _Yes, but then we are dealing with barbaric people; the Death Eaters would not even give any consideration to the families of their victims,_ ' replied Harry. ' _In most cases they torture, rape and kill just for pleasure._ '

Godric continued a moment later "If you are challenged by another member of the family then the head of the family must pay the winner compensation, if the challenge came from the heir then it is 35% of the total wealth for everyone else it is 20%.

"Most wizards believe that you are always required to name a second for the duel, however that only applies if the person making the challenge declares a second at the time of making the challenge. If not then you can declare that no second is allowed for the duel.

"In addition to that the person being challenged can declare when and where the duel will take place. Most people make a challenge in the heat of the moment so don't expect it to happen immediately, this is where you can take advantage of the situation. For example if they name a second who is not present at the time then you can have the duel start immediately."

"What would happen then?" asked Harry.

"They would have to duel without the second or forfeit the duel, however if your second is present then they are still allowed to join," replied Godric.

"That brings me to the next rule, if a challenger forfeits the duel before it starts then they will be declared the loser, and will suffer the same consequences as a normal duel, including death."

"It is very important to stick within the rules set for a duel; if it is limited to certain curses then attempting to use others will result in a forfeit for the person who broke the rules. The limits only apply to offensive curses; there is no limit to the defensive curses that can be used.

Godric continued to talk with them for the rest of the day regarding the finer points of some of the rules and also to give them some history of the duels he had been involved with.

Harry and Ginny were drained from all they had learned so far, they knew the rules for dueling were complex but never realized it was this bad. They both collapsed into their bed and were soon asleep as their minds continued to absorb everything they had learned.

* * *

Hermione sent a message on the Master DA coin advising everyone that the next meeting would be at seven that evening. Thankfully Harry had been able to setup the entrances to each of the common rooms as suggested by Godric before he was attacked so the students were able to get there without being seen.

"Good evening," Sirius said once everyone had settled down.

"This evening we are going to review the shield charm Protego. Now it is important to remember that the shield is not our only defense, if you rely too heavily on it then you are likely to lose a duel.

"You will learn during these sessions how to use the shield effectively during a duel and how to make use of other objects when available in combination with the shield. It is also important to remember that the shield cannot stop the Unforgivable curses therefore you also need to be able to identify what curse has been directed at you. This will help you determine what course of action you should take, for example we know the Killing curse is a bright green color and can only be stopped by solid objects.

"If you are not sure what curses has been cast or how powerful it is then it is better to attempt to avoid the curse completely than spend time producing a shield that may not stop it.

Sirius continued to lecture them on the various curses they should definitely avoid as they could not be shield against and how to identify them. Once he had finished he asked Hermione, Katie, Fred and George to join him at the front so they could demonstrate several different ways to avoid curses and effective ways to use the shield.

The room transformed to include several obstacles that could be used during the battle and the four were soon in their element as they dueled and showed the students what they knew.

Sirius demonstrated how to produce the shield as a reminder to everyone before address them, "I want all of your to split into pairs to practice the shield spell. One will cast minor curses only and the other will try to defend with the shield."

The students quickly spread out around the room and were soon working hard, the six Marauders and Sirius were making their way around them room helping the students. Most were able to produce reasonable shields by the end of the session and were starting to alter them based on what they had seen during the duel at the start.

"Well done everyone," Sirius said at the end. "You have all worked hard and shown that you are willing to learn. We will continue over the next couple of sessions and start introducing different objects and how to make use of them."

Once the students had returned to their various common rooms, Sirius and The New Marauders returned to the Founder's Study, so they could continue their own training.

* * *

The next day Harry and Ginny returned to see Godric and were surprised to see Merlin waiting for them too.

"Good morning," Merlin said.

"Morning," they both replied.

"Today you are going to duel against Godric and me," Merlin explained with a smile at their gob smacked faces.

"You can't be serious?" replied Harry.

"Very serious, Harry, it is the best and fastest way for you to learn," replied Godric who had been watching in amusement.

Harry and Ginny had mixed feelings about dueling with two of the greatest wizards that had ever been known. They were excited at the prospect and also a little honored, but also a little worried that they would be badly embarrassed.

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Harry, you are the most powerful wizard alive today and, Ginny, you are the most powerful witch. Individually you each are more powerful than Albus Dumbledore or Tom Riddle. Even if Godric and I are able to defeat you it doesn't affect the living realm therefore you don't have to worry about any of the consequences we discussed previously."

"Okay, we would be honored," replied Harry now looking forward to the duel.

"Now during an official duel it is important to remember the etiquette, however I seriously doubt that Tom Riddle or his followers are going to follow those so you must always be ready. We will give you a few minutes to prepare before starting." Merlin explained before he and Godric disappeared.

As Ginny and Harry were preparing for the duel a curse suddenly flew at them, they immediately erected their Merlin shield to stop the curse while they took cover behind a nearby rock. They both immediately started scanning the area with their Phoenix magic to determine where Merlin and Godric were.

' _Harry, Merlin is fifty yards to the left,_ ' Ginny said over the bond.

' _Okay, I can see him. It appears that he is hidden by an advanced Disillusionment charm. However I don't see Godric anywhere at the moment,_ ' replied Harry has he continued to search.

' _Let's take care of Merlin first, Godric may then show his position,_ ' suggested Ginny as she looked for potential ways of approaching Merlin without being seen.

' _It's not going to be easy, he can easily cover all the approaches,_ ' replied Harry.

' _What about our Phoenix forms? We could fly in from above he may not be expecting that,_ ' Ginny said before looking around again.

' _Why don't you transform and fly in from above and I will keep him busy,_ ' suggested Harry.

Once the plan had been finalized Harry immediately started sending curses towards Merlin to keep his focus away from Ginny. A few seconds later she transformed and disappeared from their location to just above Merlin, she slowly descended down toward Merlin trying to stay as quiet as possible.

Just as she landed and transformed Merlin spun around expecting to surprise her but she was ready and quickly erected their Merlin shield stopping all the curses.

"That's impossible," stated a very surprised Merlin.

"What's impossible?" asked Ginny.

"You should not be able to create the shield without touching Harry."

"Oh, we discovered a while ago that we could, as long as we both concentrate on creating the shield it will work," replied Ginny excited to teach him something new.

"Well that is certainly interesting and very useful," replied Merlin astounded that he had never discovered that.

As they continued to talk about the shield they could see an intense battle going on where Harry and Ginny had originally started out.

Just before Ginny landed near Merlin; Godric appeared behind Harry and immediately went on the attack, Harry was able to dodge the first volley of curses and took cover on the other side of the large rock they had originally hidden behind.

Harry saw that Ginny was safe so he concentrated on his duel with Godric; he immediately went on the offensive and started throwing curses towards Godric's hiding place. As they continued throwing curses at each other a few people gathered around to watch.

Twenty minutes later Harry had slowly approached Godric's hiding place so he could confront him directly, as he spun around the corner to deliver a volley of curses directly at Godric he was shocked to find he was facing the tip of a sword. Harry immediately retreated back and summoned his own sword.

Just as his sword appeared Godric came around the corner and they immediately started dueling with swords and wands. Harry was holding his own quite well against Godric but was tiring quickly.

Harry was suddenly glad that Ginny and he had finished reading the sword fighting book that Tonks had given them when they started learning, they had not practiced all of it yet but Harry was able to use some of the knowledge during the duel.

They had been dueling for almost an hour when Harry was getting close to collapsing from exhaustion; he knew that Godric was pushing him much harder than Voldemort was even capable of. The only living person who could have stayed strong this long was Ginny but she was still with Merlin watching the duel unfold.

Merlin was amazed that Harry had lasted this long he knew that Harry was strong but didn't expect either of them to have lasted more than half an hour.

"Harry truly is a powerful wizard," Merlin said to Ginny as they continued to watch.

"Yes he is," replied Ginny proudly.

"And so are you, Ginny, as we said before together you really are unstoppable. It is very reassuring for the light side that you are both Phoenixes as we know you will never turn dark."

Before Ginny could respond further she saw that Harry needed her help. She immediately flashed directly to Harry's side with her own sword drawn and took over the duel against Godric.

Thankfully Harry didn't need too long to gain some strength back as Merlin re-entered the battle and was dueling against Harry. They continued for another hour with Harry and Ginny alternating between sword and wand dueling depending upon whom they were facing at the time.

None of the four realized that as the duel continued a large crowd of people had gathered and were watching in awe as two of the most powerful wizards to ever walk the earth were locked in a duel with two young people who were easily their equals.

Lily, James, Gideon and Fabian had been watching since the beginning and couldn't begin to state how proud they were as they watched Harry and Ginny counter everything that Merlin and Godric were throwing at them.

After more than two hours the four of them finally conceded that neither side was going to win the duel. Harry and Ginny while younger and less experienced had stamina on their side, as well as their Merlin shield.

"Congratulations," Merlin said as they four walked back towards Harry's parents.

"That was amazing," added Godric who still couldn't believe that both of them had matched him almost blow for blow during the sword fighting.

"It was," chimed in Ginny who was still glowing from excitement at having survived for so long.

Lily, James, Gideon and Fabian met up with them and they all spent the next couple of hours reviewing the duel in detail. In the end they concluded that Harry and Ginny had very little they needed to learn in terms of technique or spells. Their stamina would continue to improve if they trained regularly.

"Harry, I believe the most important thing for you to take out of the duel today is how to make good use of your time. Both Ginny and you are very powerful, the fact that you don't have to be touching to summon the Merlin shield is testament to that. You also know how each other is feeling, Ginny knew exactly when you needed help in the duel with Godric and was able to take over from you without hesitation.

"This will come in very useful in the future; Tom Riddle and his followers do not place much value on training or stamina they believe that they are unstoppable and that the use of Unforgivables means they don't need to worry.

"When you return from here you will need to step up your own training as well as that of your friends. When the time comes you will be able to alternate you defense and offense like you and Ginny did today and even against far larger numbers the both of you will be impossible to defeat," Merlin explained.

Harry and Ginny listened intently as they realized just how useful it would be, with their ability to flash to any location plus transport others they could continually bring in replacements to a battle even when there are wards to stop Apparation or Portkeys.

* * *

Michael was sitting in the common room when one of the older students approached him.

"I heard what Cho told you the other day, I just wanted to warn you that if you try and follow thru on her plan then the Dark Lord will be very displeased and will make sure you suffer greatly," she said.

"What are you talking about," Michael said innocently.

"Don't act the fool Corner; I know Cho is trying to take Potter away from Weasley. The Dark Lord has plans for both of them and does not want anyone interfering."

Before Michael say anything else the student disappeared again, he sat quietly contemplating what she had said and realized that the plan was doomed to fail anyway as Potter wasn't as stupid as Cho thought and was clearly very much in love with the Weasley girl.

Deciding to heed the advice of the student Michael made his way out of the common room and headed towards Flitwick's office to tell him what Cho was plotting.

The next morning Michael's body was found in an abandoned classroom near Professor Flitwick's office, it was clear that someone had tortured him before killing him.

News quickly spread around the school that Michael had been killed; his parents arrived later that day to claim the body. Umbridge had tried to keep it quiet but was not able to and when the Aurors arrived to investigate the news got out to the Daily Prophet.

It soon became clear that whoever had killed Michael had been very careful to cover their tracks and no evidence was found that would identify the killer.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN FUDGE FIRED YOU?" screamed Molly when she heard the news.

"JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON HIM. HE WILL WISH HE NEVER HEARD OF THE NAME MOLLY WEASLEY."

"Molly, you need to calm down, Harry and Ginny will need you and going to confront Fudge can only end in disaster," came the calming voice of Dumbledore.

"Your right, Albus," replied a subdued Molly as she held Arthur tightly.

"What are we going to do?" Molly asked a while later. "We cannot afford for you to be out of work."

"I don't believe that is something you need to be concerned about, Molly. Your son-in-law is by far the richest person alive today, I am sure he will not let anything happen to either of you," replied Dumbledore.

"Albus is right, Molly, maybe I could help the twins at the shop for a while as well," added Arthur.

"Is that supposed to be a comfort," replied Molly with a chuckle.

"That's my Molly," commented Arthur before kissing her passionately.

The four of them continued to talk as they watched over the sleeping forms of Harry and Ginny.

"Has there been any progress?" asked Tonks as she watched them.

"Nothing yet, Maxim has been watching over them and making sure they are getting enough nourishment. I just hope they return soon, I cannot stand to see them like this," replied Molly and she adjusted their covers again.

"I know it is frustrating but all we can do is wait. The fact that nothing has changed is also a good thing because that means they are not getting worse," added Dumbledore.

"I spoke with Sirius this morning and he advised me that the others are working extremely hard to be ready," commented Tonks.

"I am worried about them, with Umbridge in charge of the school I fear that others will be targeted and there will be no one to be able to stop it from happening," replied Molly.

"At the moment there are enough good people in the castle to stop much from happening but you are right," replied Dumbledore.

As they continued to talk Bill and Fleur turned up, "Dad we heard the news just now, how are you doing?"

"Okay, Bill," replied Arthur before hugging him.

"Well we have some good news for you," added Bill once Molly had finished hugging them too.

"Fleur and I are getting married."

"Oh, Bill, I am so happy," responded Molly before hugging them again. "When are you getting married?"

"We are not sure yet, not before Harry and Ginny wake up that is for certain."

"There is something else as well," added Bill a little worried by his parent's reaction.

"What's wrong?" asked Molly suspecting that she already knew.

"Well, we kind of forgot to use protection; we are expecting your first grandchild," replied Bill without looking up.

"Oh that is wonderful news; I can see you are a little surprised by our reaction we have both accepted that you are going to make your own choices. I know that others try to hide it but we are not completely blind. As long as you are both happy that is the most important thing," replied Molly with a smile.

Fleur and Molly disappeared to start talking about wedding plans while Bill, Arthur and Albus talked about everything that had been happening recently. It wasn't long before the Firewhiskey came out.

"Dad, I need to get your Ministry ID, we want to include that in the evidence against Fudge when the time comes," announced Bill as they finished their sixth shot.

"Here, I don't need it anymore," replied Arthur as he threw it towards Bill who wasn't expecting it.

As they continued to talk and drink Charlie and Remus had joined them too.

"Okay gentlemen, I am not as young as I once was and need to get some sleep," announced Dumbledore before stumbling from the room.

The others continued to drink later into the night, they knew they would regret it in the morning but at the moment were too drunk to even care.

A little later Molly came to find out what had happened to Arthur since he had never come up to bed. Once she spotted them all collapsed in the sitting room she asked Maxim to take each to their rooms and leave a vial of hangover cure for them, normally she would not tolerate them getting this drunk but with everything that had been happening recently she let them off this time.

* * *

The next morning the latest copy of the Daily Prophet arrived in the Great Hall; Hermione immediately grabbed it expecting to see news about Michael Corner's death however the headline read.

 ** _Mass breakout at Azkaban  
by Robert Osburn_**

 **Last night a large group of former Death Eaters broke out of Azkaban when the Dementors rebelled against the Ministry. The Prophet has confirmed that Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Rodolphus Lestrange are among those who escaped.**

 **We have also learned that several of the guards at the prison where killed during the breakout having been tortured by the escapees. Our thoughts go out to the families of those who died.**

 **Minister Fudge had this to say, "The Death Eaters and Dementors were working on their own to escape, we were able to capture one of the escapees earlier this morning who told us that once they heard the stories of he-who-must-not-be-named's return they convinced the Dementors to join them.**

 **"Again we must reiterate that there is no evidence that he-who-must-not-be-named has returned and the continual stories from Albus Dumbledore have now led directly to the escape of known Death Eaters.**

 **"We would like to reassure the public that the escapee's will be dealt with swiftly as we did earlier this year when the twenty five known Death Eaters were brought to justice."**

 **The Minister refused to answer any questions regarding his statement on Albus Dumbledore, or his claims that they captured the twenty five Death Eaters.**

 **The Daily Prophet also asked Minister Fudge what he planned to do about the prison now the Dementors have now left. He refused to answer stating that it would comprise security further to discuss it.**

 **We have not been able to determine the whereabouts of the escaped Death Eaters, we must warn the public to remain vigilant and report any sighting immediately.**

 **Details of the crimes committed by the escapee's can be found inside; we again warn you that the information is very disturbing.**

"I cannot believe it," exclaimed Hermione once she had finished reading.

The other's around her had all read it too and were just as frustrated.

"Fudge knew this might happen, I cannot believe he is blaming Dumbledore for this," added Fred.

"Well it just proves that we need to step up the DA training, I am sure they will try something soon and we will need to be ready," commented Katie.

They were about to discard the paper when Hermione saw another article.

 ** _Arthur Weasley Fired  
By Rita Skeeter_**

 **Long time Ministry worked Arthur Weasley was fired yesterday for refusing to reveal the location of his daughter to Minister Fudge. As we reported recently an arrest warrant has been issued for Miss. Weasley, we have also learned that she has not been present at school since the warrant was issued.**

 **Mr. Weasley refused to comment and left for an unknown location, with his Auror escort, immediately after he was fired.**

 **Minister Fudge said "Mr. Weasley has shown that he cannot be trusted, he refuses to allow Miss. Weasley to be brought to justice for the crimes she has committed and I was left with no choice but to fire him. He has thirty days to bring his daughter in or an arrest warrant will be issued for him also."**

"This is Umbridge's fault," spat Fred as he finished the article.

"We will have to teach her a lesson and soon," added George.

"Time to contact our Marauder partners," replied Fred.

"Yes, dear brother, I believe it is time," replied George with a large smile.

"Oh boy, this is going to get interesting," replied Katie.

The six of them soon disappeared to the Founders Study to train; they missed Harry and Ginny but knew they had to continue training until they returned.

Once they arrived Sirius was waiting for them, "I am sure you have all seen the news already. As we know Tom hasn't woken up yet so we can be certain that this escape was a desperate attempt to get more help. It is almost certain that Tom is the secret keeper for the Death Eater hideout so they will not be able to bring new Death Eaters in until he is awake."

"What can we do," asked Fred.

"We are going to step up the training; I have already spoken to your Professors and with the exception of DADA you have been excused from classes until further notice. Tonks, Remus and I will be here each day and will push you hard to make sure you are ready," Sirius advised them.

"We will also be stepping up the DA training to a new level. We need everyone to be ready, since we have lost our ability to monitor the Death Eaters they have the advantage, we need to be ready to counter that quickly and decisively.

They six of them looked excited at the prospect of training hard; they didn't want to let Harry or Ginny down.

"We will work as hard as possible to be ready," announced Hermione, the others quickly agreeing.

"Sirius, there is another matter we need to discuss," added Fred.

"I assume you are talking about your father," replied Sirius.

"Yes, we are sure that Umbridge had something to do with it," replied Fred.

"And you want to get even with her," replied Sirius with a wicked smile as he contemplated going back to his pranking days.

"Yes, and we wanted the masters to help us," added Fred.

* * *

Bill was sitting eating breakfast with Fleur, Molly, Arthur and Dumbledore when a message arrived from Ranok.

 _Mr. Weasley,_

 _Please report immediately to my office to discuss the situation at Azkaban prison. We would also request the presence of Mr. Dumbledore and Mr. Arthur Weasley; we believe they are staying with you at present._

 _Ranok_  
 _Manager_

"What's this about," asked Dumbledore.

"I believe Ranok is about to call in the twenty million Galleon debt that the ministry owes," replied Bill with an evil grin.

"Oh," replied Dumbledore realizing exactly what was implied. "Well let's not waste Ranok's valuable time."

The three of them travelled with Xavier to Ranok's office to avoid being seen by anyone else.

"Good morning, Ranok," Bill said once they had arrived.

"Morning, Mr. Weasley, thank you for coming so quickly."

"Of course, you know Mr. Dumbledore and Mr. Arthur Weasley," replied Bill.

"Yes, welcome gentlemen, we have much to discuss."

"As I am sure you know a large number of convicted Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban last night. Normally we would not get involved in the affairs of the Ministry but feel that it is time to step up and honour the ancient agreements between the Goblin nation and Merlin himself.

"As we all know Mr. Potter is Merlin's heir and because of that has our full support, in addition he has shown us nothing but respect in all our dealings. As you may be aware the Ministry refused to honour a contract they signed and it is now time to call in that debt.

"As we speak two full battalions of Goblin Warrior's is preparing to seize and take control of Azkaban Island," announced Ranok.

"Fudge is not going to accept that, he is likely to retaliate," replied Dumbledore.

"We fully expect him to do so yes; we will allow the current Ministry employees to leave without any harm. Fudge will be given one warning if he refuses to listen then anyone who attacks will be arrested under Goblin law and placed in the prison to await the return of Mr. Potter," replied Ranok.

"Very well, Ranok, we will not officially get involved in this, however you have my full support," replied Dumbledore.

"You have the full support for the Weasley family too," added Arthur.

Before anyone else could respond Fawkes flashed into the room.

' _Welcome back, my friend,_ ' Dumbledore said.

' _Thank you, Albus, I come with a message for the Goblin Nation,_ ' replied Fawkes before turning to Ranok.

"Ranok, I would like to introduce you to Fawkes, he has a message to deliver."

"Thank you, Mr. Dumbledore. Fawkes you honour us with your presence here, please proceed," replied Ranok.

' _Ranok, Leader of the Great and Noble Nation of Goblins, I come with a message from the Phoenix King,_ ' projected Fawkes into his mind.

"Fawkes, I would be honoured to listen to the message," replied Ranok politely confusing several of the Goblin's present.

' _I King Archimedes of the Phoenix realm extend my gratitude to Leader Ranok and his people for the continual protection of our Prince and his mate, as well as their family. The time has come for us to once again united together, to fully support the noble family of Merlin as we once did in the past._

' _The darkness that has encompassed the Wizarding World and all magical creatures has gone further than it should ever have been allowed. We are all partly responsible for this because we never stood up against the humans. Mr. and Mrs. Potter are the only ones who can bring about the peace and lasting changes that are needed to fix this world._

' _I have ordered a battalion of Phoenix to help secure Azkaban prison and supplement the Goblin Wards with Phoenix magic,_ ' finished Fawkes.

"I Ranok of the Goblin nation accept the offer from King Archimedes and agree unconditionally to unite with the Phoenixes," replied Ranok officially.

Dumbledore wasn't sure what had happened but knew it was significant, ' _what happened, Fawkes?_ '

' _The Goblins and Phoenixes have united together to support Harry,_ ' replied Fawkes without giving away the full details.

Dumbledore relayed the message to Arthur and Bill who were just as surprised at what had happened.

"What does that mean?" asked Arthur.

"It means that the Goblins and Phoenixes will unite behind Harry in the war against Voldemort and more importantly means that most of the other magical creatures will to. We can be certain that the giants will not attack in the presence of Phoenixes they have far too much respect for them, it is unlikely that Voldemort will know this and we must make certain that he doesn't find out until the time is right," replied Dumbledore.

"It is time, we will contact you once the Island has been secured," announced Ranok before they could continue.

"Thank you, Ranok," replied Dumbledore before disappearing with Xavier and Arthur.

"Mr. Weasley, you will act as our liaison with the humans," announced Ranok before they left his office to join the battalions.

"Thank you, Ranok for your trust," replied Bill.

"You have earned it Mr. Weasley, but now we must leave."

' _Ranok, the battalion of Phoenixes are ready to transport your troops to the Island,_ ' projected Fawkes. ' _Each Phoenix can take ten Goblins._ '

Ranok quickly gave the order and the troops organized into groups of ten, once ready a bright light filled the room and they all disappeared. Ranok and Bill travelled with Fawkes and arrived in the main control room for the prison with twenty Goblin Warriors, the other groups arrived throughout the prison.

"What is the meaning off this?" shouted the warden of the prison Geoffrey Richardson.

"The Goblin nation has seized control of this facility as payment for debts owed by the Ministry of Magic and for their failure to secure the prisoners in their custody," announced Bill.

"You scum have no right to do this," replied Richardson.

"They have every right to do this; Minister Fudge signed a contract that he never honoured. The Goblins have been very patient with the current Minister, the escape of the prisoners last night shows that the Ministry does not have the control of this facility and that cannot be allowed to continue," Bill responded.

"How you can let these half breeds dictate what happens in our world, you are nothing but a blood traitor," replied Richardson angrily.

Richardson had barely finished his sentence when he was pinned against the wall by two fully armed and angry Goblin warriors.

"Get these filthy half breeds away from me."

"Will you never learn?" sighed Bill knowing that Richardson would be lucky to make it out of here alive. "I would suggest you keep your mouth shut, the Goblin's promised not to harm any of the Ministry workers but you are pushing the limit."

"I don't have to listen to you or these creatures," replied Richardson.

Bill was about to respond when Fawkes flew towards him and ripped the arm of his shirt exposing his Dark Mark.

"Well I guess that you won't be leaving here then," announced Bill.

"Guards please escort Mr. Richardson to a holding cell," Ranok ordered.

Richardson attempted to escape which pleased the two warriors who were escorting him as they took him down quickly and efficiently.

It didn't take long for them to secure the whole prison; they found two other traitors while bringing all the Ministry works to the control room before allowing them all to leave.

"Please deliver this message directly to Minister Fudge," Bill told one of the guards before he left.

The Goblins and Phoenixes proceeded to secure the prison with various wards; they checked each of the prisoners who were still there. They were rather surprised to find Draco Malfoy still in his cell as every other Death Eater or family member had escaped.

* * *

Harry and Ginny were still recovering from the extended duel that they had with Merlin and Godric the previous day when a girl approached them.

"Hello," she asked attentively.

"Hi, can we help you?" asked Ginny kindly.

"I hope so, you know my brother and I wanted to pass on a message to him," she replied.

"Are you sure we know your brother?" Ginny asked again as they could not see any resemblance to anyone they knew.

"I'm sorry I should have introduced myself, I am Ariana Dumbledore, Albus is my older brother," Ariana said.

"We didn't know Albus had a sister, I am Ginny and this is my husband Harry."

"Hi, I watched your duel yesterday, it was amazing," replied Ariana as Harry offered her a seat.

"Thank you, we still can believe how long we lasted," said Ginny honestly.

They continued to chat for a while about the duel before Harry remembered she wanted to give them a message. "Before we forget what did you want us to tell your brother?"

"Oh right," Ariana said with a little embarrassment.

"I don't know how much you know about what happened between Albus and Grindelwald before the final battle?" asked Ariana.

"Only what we have seen in his mind when he attempted to attack Ginny and I but we didn't spend a lot of time focused on it," replied Harry kindly.

Ariana went on to explain how they had been friends and what happened that resulted in her death

"We never knew," replied Ginny with tears running down her cheeks.

"The problem is Albus has blamed himself for all these years, and he has not been able to move on from it," Ariana explained.

"I can understand," replied Harry honestly they were more alike than they either realized.

"Yes, until Ginny came along you where the same," stated Ariana with a kind, but sad smile.

Harry knew she was telling the truth and just hugged Ginny tighter to himself to acknowledge what she had said.

"Please tell him that I don't blame him and I am much happier here than I was for a long time there. I don't want him to mourn for me any longer; he has put his own feelings aside for too long.

"There is something else too, he also believes that he is gay, that was Grindelwald's fault also, and he was feeding Albus with a love potion that caused it. Please tell him that he isn't and never was and he needs to finally acknowledge his feelings for Minerva, who I must say has been very forgiving."

"You can't be serious," replied Ginny.

"Very much so, Albus has been in love, with Minerva, for many years but he has refused to do anything because of what Grindelwald did to him," Ariana stated.

"Well then we will pass on your message," stated Ginny.

"I know Albus made a lot of mistakes when it came to how he treated you, Harry. I am just glad that you were able to get past that, he can be very stubborn especially when he believes he is right."

"Hmm, well I know someone else like that," joked Ginny to Ariana amusement.

"Well you should learn from this and stop being so stubborn," added Harry earning himself a slap before they all laughed.

Ariana spent several more hours talking to them about her family and how proud she was of both her brothers despite what had happened to her.

* * *

Fudge was livid when he heard the news that Azkaban had been seized by the Goblins and immediately demanded that Ranok explain his actions.

He was further enraged when the messenger owl returned with the unopened letter and vowed to retake Azkaban quickly.

"Mr. Weasley, please alert all departments that I will expect all active members of the Ministry to be here at seven tomorrow morning for a meeting in the Atrium," Fudge ordered.

"Yes, Minister," Percy replied before leaving the office to send out the messages.

As ordered all the Ministry workers reported to the Atrium, a podium had been setup so Fudge could address them.

"Good morning, as you know yesterday the Goblins illegally seized control of Azkaban prison and have refused to respond to our demands for answers. We have tolerated them for a long time because they run Gringotts and therefore our money. I have enacted two new laws this morning that will put a stop to this illegal activity; any Goblin who does not follow our orders is to be executed immediately.

A large number of murmurs where heard around the Atrium at that announcement.

"They will not allow that," shouted someone.

"Are you crazy, you are going to start another war with them," shouted another.

"ENOUGH," shouted Fudge as he attempted to bring order back to the meeting.

Slowly the murmurs died down but it was clear that not everyone supported these actions.

"We will soon be leaving here to take back Azkaban, any Goblins who oppose us will be captured or killed," continued Fudge.

Fudge continued to spout on about the plan of attack for the prison, most of the people there knew it was crazy but were too weak to do anything to stop Fudge. Amelia Bones was on the verge of attacking Fudge when he gave the order for everyone to Apparate to Azkaban Island's only Apparation point.

Amelia looked around and realized she was not the only one who had refused to leave with the Minister. All of them quickly made their way to Amelia's office so they would not be seen anyone who returned from the attack.

Meanwhile at Azkaban things were not going well at all, the Goblins and Phoenixes had placed wards around the Apparation point so were alerted immediately when everyone arrived. Over half of the Ministry workers never even managed to get a curse off as a volley of Stunners came in from around them.

A battalion of Goblin Warriors were summoned immediately when the alarms sounded and deployed around the Apparation point within ten seconds of the Ministry workers arriving.

"Kill them all," shouted Fudge to those who were left.

Ranok had made it very clear that the Warriors were not to take any lives unless they had no other option. The battle was over quickly but unfortunately a few of the Goblins were killed.

"Minister Fudge, you have been warned before and once again you have defied us," announced Ranok. "I ordered my Warriors to let you all live today, next time we will not be so forgiving."

Before Fudge could respond Ranok clicked his fingers and the Apparation point was filled with light as the battalion of Phoenixes appeared and removed all the Ministry workers back to the Ministry.

Slowly the Ministry workers started to wake up to find themselves in the Atrium once again. They soon realized that their wands were missing and they were basically helpless until they found replacements.

Fudge had had survived the attack without any injures, however suffered a broken arm as a result of being dropped when Fawkes returned him to the Ministry.

"This is not over," Fudge said to no one in particular before storming off to his office.

"Weasley, I want the Wizengamot assembled tomorrow to discuss the situation with the Goblins. They will answer for what they have done," Fudge said before he slammed the door shut.

Percy immediately left the office to send a notification out to the members to meet in the morning.

* * *

The New Marauders decided it was time to get even with Umbridge for what she had done, not only had she allowed Cho to go without any punishment but she had also caused Arthur to be sacked from the ministry.

They had planned carefully and knew that the house elves would help as they were loyal to Harry and Ginny especially with Dobby assuming being the leader within Hogwarts. Everything was in place for the prank, Hermione had adapted the trace recording device that they found after Harry's attack, so they could use it whenever they wanted, and each of the New Marauders carried one with them just in case they were attacked.

The devices were active all the time and were able to store a complete record of what happened during the day, if anything did happen then they would transfer the recording to a central storage device which could then be used to determine exactly what had happened.

They had also placed several devices at key places around Hogwarts which were all linked to the Founders Study control centre that Hermione had been working on ever since Harry was attacked.

The one thing they had realized about Umbridge was that she was a creature of habit; she would follow the same routine every day. Dobby had replaced her normal shampoo with one supplied by Fred and George, however nothing would happen until a trigger ingredient was added which would happen in the Great Hall during breakfast.

Umbridge as expected followed her normal routine to the letter and at 8:57 walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. She sat in the Headmaster's seat as always and then proceeded to fill her plate with breakfast.

A first year then approached the Professor's table and asked to speak with Professor McGonagall urgently.

"What is the problem, Miss Rogers?" asked McGonagall when they walked towards the main door.

Suddenly there was loud explosion from the front of the Hall and the seat that McGonagall has occupied had disappeared and now appeared to be a large swamp of water that completely surrounded Professor Umbridge. She also discovered that she was glued to the seat and couldn't move.

The explosion had caused all the students to look towards the front to find out what happened; laughter soon filled the Great Hall as they saw what was happening.

"Detention, Mr. Potter," screamed Professor Umbridge without thinking.

McGonagall had walked towards the front again having realized that Miss Rogers had been told to get her away from the table.

"Headmistress, Mr. Potter has not been at school since he was attacked," stated McGonagall with a smirk.

Before she could say anything else another explosion occurred and her seat was transformed into a large water lily, this caused another round of laughter around the Great Hall as everyone watched the prank unfold.

At this point the other Professors had moved away from their table to avoid being caught up in the prank, none of them even lifted a finger to help Umbridge.

"Do something," demanded Umbridge.

"Without knowing who did this I cannot even begin to determine what to do," replied McGonagall calmly expecting that this wasn't the end of the prank.

Her suspicions where confirmed a few seconds later when a cloud appeared above Umbridge and caused rain to fall, as soon as it touched her hair it begun changing colour cycling through the colours of the rainbow.

No one had moved at this point even though they were now late for their first lesson, most of them reasoned that if all the Professors were standing at the front of the Hall that they would not be in trouble for being late.

Every single eye in the Great Hall was focused on the scene at the front of the Hall; none of them noticed that Cho Chang had been transformed into a large fly when she ate her breakfast. They did however noticed when a flash of light filled the Hall, when it faded Umbridge was no longer sitting on the water lily instead there was a large toad and sitting on a rock nearby was a fly which was trying to get away as the toad was attempting to eat it.

Once again everyone who was watching dissolved into fits of laugher as they watched the scene in front of them.

A few minutes later another flash of light filled the room and when it faded a large banner was seen above the scene.

 ** _This morning's entertainment brought to you by The New Marauders…_**

McGonagall decided it was time to send the students off to their lessons, once the hall was emptied she chuckled to herself and decided to leave Umbridge and the fly there until they reverted back.

Unfortunately for Umbridge and Cho they stayed there for the rest of the day, much to the delight of everyone else in the school.

* * *

Harry and Ginny, who had not really had any time together as they were able to when they were alone either at Potter Castle or in the Founder's study at Hogwarts, had not stopped since arriving with Merlin over a week previously, were enjoying a long walk around Harry's parent's house talking about everything that had happened.

"You know, we don't get nearly enough time to do this," said Ginny as they walked hand in hand.

Harry stopped and turned to look at Ginny before responding "I know." He stood there for several minutes just staring into Ginny's beautiful eyes.

"You really are the most beautiful woman I have ever met, I don't tell you nearly enough," he told her before kissing her passionately.

"You don't have to say it," she replied once she got her breath back.

"I like saying it, and I really like your reaction when I do," replied Harry with a playful smile.

"Oh you do, do you?" asked Ginny with an equally playful smile before transforming into her Lion form and racing off towards the forest behind them.

Harry immediate transformed into his Lion form and gave chase; he quickly realized even in this form he could use his Phoenix abilities so was able to keep track of Ginny as she weaved through the trees.

' _Hey what's keeping you,_ ' mocked Ginny over the bond.

' _Nothing, I like watching your bum,_ ' replied Harry in laughter.

' _Pervert,_ ' replied Ginny before laughing herself.

' _Not my fault you have a very desirable body._ '

' _Why don't you come here and show me just how desirable, Mr. Potter,_ ' suggested Ginny very seductively.

Harry quickly made his way over to her, just has he was about to pounce on her she disappeared to the other side of the small clearing.

' _Tease,_ ' shouted Harry as he swung around to chase her again.

' _What are you going to do about it?_ ' she asked.

' _This,_ ' replied Harry before flashing directly above her, transforming and landing gently on top of her as she also transformed.

Harry slowly leant down and kissed her gently on her soft lips before moving towards her neck. Ever so slowly Harry continued to kiss her while showing just how much he loved her through the bond. She was overwhelmed by the raw emotions coming through the bond, she knew Harry loved her completely but she had never felt this loved and cared for. Ginny was soon returning the kisses and the two of them spent the next couple of hours expressing just how much in love they were.

As evening approached the final made their way out of the forest and returned to Harry's parent's house.

"Have fun?" asked Lily as they walked into the house.

"Yep," replied Harry happily.

"I am pleased, unfortunately your time here has come to an end," added James.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"We have taught you all that we can and the time has come for you to return," replied Merlin. "Before you go however there are two things that you must let happen."

"First you need to visit Ranok and accept the Goblin nations support, they have recently agreed to a treaty with the Phoenixes to support you. Once you accept their support you will be assigned a personal guard made up of Goblin Elite Warriors as another level of protection. They will only appear if either of you are in immediate danger.

"Second Fudge has issued an arrest warrant for Ginny, the charges are false but you must allow her to be arrested. Fudge will try to abuse her when in custody, this will be the trigger for to you reveal your true heritage and bring about the changes needed," Merlin explained.

"No way," replied Harry angrily.

"Harry, Fudge will not be able to touch her, the Goblin Elite Warriors will see to that, but Fudge's reaction when they protect Ginny will result in an official complaint from the Goblin nation."

"I am not happy about this at all," offered Harry just an angrily as before.

"We would be upset if you just accepted this; we know how much you love her and would not even suggest this if it wasn't necessary. That is why you need to accept the Goblin's support."

Harry was still not comfortable with this turn of events but accepted that it must happen so went with it. Throughout the evening all the people they had met during their time there came to say their goodbyes and wished them well for the future.

"Good bye, Ginny," said Gideon before hugging her. "Don't forget to tell Molly how much we miss her but don't want to see her for a long time yet."

"I will," replied Ginny with tears in her eyes.

"Tell the twins we are proud of them and want to see many more pranks and jokes before they arrive here too," added Fabian as he also hugged Ginny.

They each thanked Harry for saving Ginny once again and taking such good care of her.

"Bye, my son," James said as he hugged Harry tightly not ashamed to let the tears flow.

"Bye, dad, it has been good to finally meet you in person," replied Harry as tears flowed down his face.

"We will not see you for a very long time, you will understand one day why but we want you to know just how proud we are and know you will succeed. I have always and will always love you," added James.

Finally Lily approached and pulled Harry into a hug rivaling anything that Molly had ever given him. "I love you, Harry, and as James said am very proud of you."

"I love you too, mum," replied Harry before sobbing into her shoulder, he knew that they had to leave but the last week had been amazing and he finally had time to do some of the things he always hoped he could with his family.

' _Harry, when this is all over we will have that,_ ' Ginny told him as she saw the pictures in his mind.

' _I know,_ ' replied Harry with a smile.

Once everyone had finally left and more tears had been shed Harry and Ginny climbed into bed and cuddled gently together before falling asleep, for the last time in that place, not to return for an extremely long time.

* * *

The next morning they both woke up slowly getting used to being back in their normal bodies.

' _Good morning, beautiful,_ ' Harry said as they both became aware of their surroundings.

' _Morning, handsome,_ ' replied Ginny who was extreme aroused still from the rather erotic dream they had shared.

' _I don't think we will be able to do that,_ ' added Harry when he saw what Ginny was thinking.

' _Why?_ ' asked Ginny who was a little put out.

' _Well, I am not sure your parents or Albus really want to witness that,_ ' replied Harry with a small chuckle as Ginny realized they were not alone as she had thought.

' _Opps, that would have been embarrassing,_ ' added Ginny with a small smile.

' _I guess we should tell them we are awake,_ ' Harry told her as he slowly opened his eyes.

Harry looked around the room to see that Maxim and Sandy were also present and taking care of their personal needs, none of them had realized that Harry and Ginny were now awake.

"Why is everyone so morbid?" asked Harry in a croaky voice.

Molly spun around and soon engulfed Harry in a solid hug.

"Mum, Harry can't breathe," Ginny told her when Harry started to turn blue.

"Oh, sorry," replied Molly sheepishly after gently lowering Harry back to the bed.

"It's okay," offered Harry. "It is nice to be loved so much."

Maxim and Sandy were extreme happy to see them both awake and made sure they were comfortable before disappearing to get them a light breakfast to enjoy. Meanwhile Albus had sent a message to Sirius who was still at Hogwarts telling him that the patients had woken up.

As it was a Saturday morning when they woke up all the Weasley family except Percy and Ron, the New Marauders and several others were soon gathered at Potter Castle to see Harry and Ginny.

Harry told them that they would see them all at breakfast but wanted to talk to Molly and Arthur privately before that.

Once the others had left the four of them settled down on the couch in the bedroom, since Harry and Ginny were still weak from being asleep for so long.

"Mum, I have a message from Fabian and Gideon for you," Ginny told her once they were all seated.

"They wanted me to tell you that they miss you very much but they don't want you to worry about them. They are very happy now, they are also extremely proud of you and everything you have done to bring us up. They also said they don't want to see you for many more years as you have at least one more generation to watch over. It seems they know something that we don't because they were too excited when they said that."

Molly had tears flowing down her cheeks as she heard the message from her brothers. Arthur held Molly in a tight embrace as she cried quietly as what they said sank in and brought her further closure. Harry and Ginny joined the hug after a few minutes and Molly and Ginny left the tears flow freely down their cheeks.

"You will have to talk to Bill about that," Arthur stated a while later.

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny before realizing what Arthur meant.

Ginny squealed before flashing down to breakfast to ask her brother what was going on.

"Mum tells me you have something to tell me," Ginny said once she arrived.

"Oh she did, did she," replied Bill with a smile drawing it out as long as he could.

"Git, just tell me," responded Ginny impatiently.

"I am not sure that is how you should speak to your older, smarter brother," replied Bill slowly.

After snorting with laughter Ginny replied, "Hmm, I wonder if a couple of bats will loosen your tongue."

"You wouldn't," replied Bill warily.

"Are you sure? Do you want to test that theory?" replied Ginny who had pulled her wand out and was slowly lifting it towards Bill.

"Oh you are no fun," replied Bill before pulling her into a hug before whispering "Fleur and I are getting married and expecting a baby."

She squealed again before hugging Bill again, she then turned to Fleur and congratulated her too.

Harry arrived a few seconds later and also congratulated them and offered them a place at Potter Castle for as long as they needed.

It was then that Ginny realized what had happened after she left the bedroom.

' _Thank you, Harry, you didn't need to do that,_ ' Ginny said as they sat at the table.

' _They are my family too, Fudge has gone too far and I am not letting anything happen to them because of his idiocy,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Well I will just have to reward you later,_ ' replied Ginny before showing him just how she planned to do that.

( _A/N:_ _Ariana explained_ _exactly what J.K. Rowling stated in Death Hallows so won't be repeated here._ )


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One**

Everyone was enjoying breakfast when Hermione spotted an article in the Daily Prophet about the mysterious deaths of everyone in a small town.

"Hey look at this," stated Hermione.

 _ **Small town wiped out  
By Roger Davies**_

 _ **We have received reports that a whole town north of Manchester was recently wiped out. The Muggle authorities have not been able to explain what happened, there were no survivors and no evidence to indicate how it could have happened.**_

 _ **The authorities have banned anyone from visiting the town in fear that it may be some form of virus, however their tests have not revealed anything. The ministry has refused to get involved stating that there is no evidence suggesting that Wizards were involved.**_

"That sounds like Dementors," Dumbledore said.

"That makes sense, Muggles cannot see them so they would be helpless if they came in force," replied Molly.

"This is very worrying and we have no way of finding them," stated Dumbledore.

"We will have to keep our eyes open for future attacks and see if there is a pattern," suggested Harry.

"Is there anything else we can do?" asked Sirius.

"We can see them with our Phoenix magic but we cannot cover the whole country," Ginny advised them.

"There is a battalion of Phoenixes currently stationed at Azkaban," replied Dumbledore just before Xavier and Fawkes arrived.

' _Welcome back,_ ' Xavier said once he arrived.

' _Thank you, it seems that we have missed quite a lot,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Yes, the Phoenix King has agreed to unite with the Goblins and we have deployed a battalion of Phoenixes to Azkaban,_ ' replied Xavier.

' _Can we redeploy them to monitor for the Dementors around the country?_ ' asked Harry

' _Yes, you can, they are your troops to command; once you give the order they will do whatever they are told._ '

' _I don't understand, why they would follow my orders?_ ' replied a confused Harry.

' _Harry, Fawkes has a message for you that will explain everything, in the meantime you can just give the command and they will deploy as needed,_ ' explained Xavier.

' _Okay, I need the Phoenixes to deploy throughout United Kingdom, they are to be on the lookout for Dementors and report back immediately when and where they are detected. If needed they must report back to Azkaban,_ ' Harry stated.

"Okay the Phoenixes have deployed, hopefully we will be able to stop any future attacks," stated Harry.

* * *

Fudge paced on the platform as he waited for the members of the Wizengamot to gather, he had spent all of the previous evening planning a number of changes in the laws that would basically give back the control of Azkaban and take Gringotts from the Goblins and hand it over to Ministry.

Once everyone had assembled Fudge approached the podium to speak.

"Members of the Wizengamot, the time has come for us to take action against the Goblins for their continual defiance of our rules and standards. As you are all aware early yesterday morning they illegally seized Azkaban prison killing many Ministry works in the process," stated Fudge.

"That is a lie," shouted Augusta Longbottom who had been monitoring the situation closely. "No one was killed during the seizure of Azkaban or in your failed attempt to retake the prison."

"I am afraid you have been misinformed Mrs. Longbottom, indeed a number of valuable Ministry workers were indeed killed. The Goblins went to great extremes to make it look like nothing had happened but we have proof that clearly shows they were murdered by those vile creatures," replied Fudge smugly.

"In that case, Minister Fudge, I assume you are able to produce the bodies of those who were killed so that we can verify your claim?" asked Amelia Bones who also had been monitoring what was happening.

"We have not been able to recover any of the bodies," replied Fudge calmly.

"Then you are unable to say what has really happened to them," stated Augusta again.

"They were killed by the Goblins, what else is there to say" stated Fudge again.

"Without any evidence you cannot make that claim or any other, our relations are already stained with the Goblins because of your actions at Hogwarts and now your failed attempt to retake Azkaban. Unless you can produce concrete evidence that the Goblins are responsible for the deaths of the workers then you cannot use this argument to justify any changes in the law," stated Amelia officially bringing the argument to an abrupt end.

"Regardless of that they still have illegally seized Azkaban prison and must be punished. This morning I have ordered the seizure of both Azkaban prison and Gringotts bank," stated Fudge.

The members of the Wizengamot were outraged that Fudge would go to such an extreme.

"Minister Fudge, you don't have the authority to do that," stated a member of the Wizengamot.

"Actually this body gave me the power last year," replied Fudge with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" asked the member again.

"Attached to the Dangerous Creatures Act was the following statement.

 _ **"The Minister for Magic or their selected employees have the right to enact any emergency laws or take any action needed to control the creatures covered by this act. The Minister for Magic or selected employees cannot be held responsible for actions resulting from these laws.**_

 _ **"Any changes will carry the full authority of the Wizengamot and can only be overturned by a seventy five percent majority of voting members.**_

"This was not removed and therefore came into effect when you signed the law," finished Fudge smugly.

Amelia knew they would not be able to overturn the emergency law because there were too many people who still supported Fudge and a good number of believed that Goblins and other magical creatures should be under the control of humans.

"Minister Fudge, I hope you are willing to accept the price for your actions? The Goblins will not allow you to simply take control of either facility therefore you will effectively have put us at war with the Goblin nation," replied Amelia sadly.

"Then we will finally be able to rid this world of the foul creatures," responded Fudge to the cheers of a number of members.

Amelia was torn, she couldn't in good conscious continue to work for the Ministry but knew if she resigned then Fudge would replace her with someone he selected which would give him even more control over the Aurors then he already had. No she would have to stick this one out and hope that something could be done about Fudge and soon.

The meeting continued for a while longer as Fudge proposed creating more laws that would further restrict the rights of the Goblins and a number of other magic creatures. They barely passed despite the best efforts of several members to highlight just how damaging they would be to relations with those creatures.

* * *

After breakfast Harry and Ginny sat down with Dumbledore and explained everything that had happened while they were away that they had not shared with the others. They explained about the specific training that Merlin and Gryffindor had given them and about their duel.

"Albus, we have a special message for you," Ginny said as they continued to talk.

"Okay," said Albus a little worried.

"We met Ariana and she wants you know that she doesn't blame you for what happened and she wants you to stop blaming yourself."

Dumbledore struggled to keep his composure but failed miserably.

"She also wanted us to tell you that it is time to accept your feelings for Minerva," added Ginny once Dumbledore had recovered a little.

"And before you protest she wants you to know that it was Grindelwald who was causing you to be attracted to him, he had been feeding you a love potion."

They could see that Dumbledore was struggling with what they had told him, so left him to contemplate what they had told him.

Several hours later Dumbledore found Harry and Ginny talking in the sitting room and thanked them for passing on the messages. He was going to listen to his sister's advice and finally tell Minerva how he felt.

* * *

Once Albus had left to send a message to Minerva Fawkes flashed into the room and settled now on the back of the cough facing Harry and Ginny.

' _Harry, Ginny, I have a message for you from the Phoenix King,_ ' Fawkes said.

' _Thank you,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Harry and Ginny, you are the first, and will be the only, of your race to ever achieve a Phoenix transformation. When that happened you went from being human to becoming Phoenix completely with all the abilities of a Phoenix._

' _I am sure you are wondering if that includes rebirth as all Phoenixes do when they go through the burning. The simple answer is yes it does and therefore it means you are now immortal as all Phoenixes are. However for you both it will be very different the first time, you will not experience your first burning until you die as a human once that happens you will be reborn as a Phoenix with one ability that no other Phoenix has, you will have the ability to transform into your human form._

' _Harry you have been chosen to unite the Wizarding World and bring lasting peace, in order to achieve this you and your mate have been selected to serve as joint King and Queen with me and my mate in the Phoenix realm. However before you can take your place you must achieve a full Phoenix bond. We cannot tell you how to complete the bond as it is different for each Phoenix pair, but we will know when it has been completed._

' _Until the Phoenix bond has been completed you will be known as the Prince and Princess of the Phoenix realm and will have command of all Phoenixes currently residing in the human realm. They have been instructed to follow your orders completely unless these are overridden by me or the queen._

' _As you may have already learned we have reformed an alliance with the Goblins that existed when Merlin was alive. With this alliance you now have access to the mighty Goblin Warriors who were once feared for their efficiency and dedication to the task assigned. Unfortunately due to the many laws that the Wizarding World has created they have been forced into hiding until now. They are a proud race and while they will fiercely defend their property and anything that they are asked to protect they are a peaceful race when given the respect they deserve. Respect Harry and Ginny that only you will be able to restore to them._

' _Other magical creatures will unite with you once they see how the Goblins are treated, included among those will be the Giants who are the second oldest race in the Wizarding World after the Phoenixes. Don't be surprised if they appear to support Tom Riddle at first, they are a very cunning race and would take immense pleasure in turning on Riddle at the last moment._

' _The time of darkness that has covered the Wizarding World is finally coming to an end but it will not be defeated easily only together can you finally rid the world of the darkness and bring the lasting changes that will help to keep it away. Once you have deal with Tom Riddle, only by uniting the many different races and creatures of the Wizarding World and ensuring they are represented equally will the peace last._ '

Harry and Ginny were stunned to say the least, they never expected any of this to happen, not only were they immortal which was slightly troubling but they were second only to the King and Queen in the Phoenix realm.

' _Are we still dreaming?_ ' asked Harry a little later.

' _No, Harry, this is all very real indeed,_ ' replied Xavier.

' _Oh, we will need some time to come to terms with all this,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Harry, this just seems too much,_ ' Ginny stated.

' _I know, I guess that means we will really be in love forever. That's not so bad,_ ' replied Harry trying to lighten the mood.

' _What do you mean, NOT SO BAD,_ ' replied Ginny in outrage which was ruined by the large smile on her face.

' _Well I can think of worse people to have to spend eternity with._ '

' _But I thought you Lovvveeed the toad,_ ' replied Ginny causing Harry to vomit.

' _Well that was dignified,_ ' Ginny said after cleaning up.

' _I cannot believe you said that, just you wait until I get you Mrs. Potter,_ ' replied Harry before chasing after her.

' _I can't wait,_ ' Ginny said before flashing to another room in the castle.

The chase continued until lunch time before they finally settled down again.

' _Thank you, I needed to take my mind off everything for a while,_ ' Harry said once they settled down for lunch.

' _So did I,_ ' replied Ginny.

* * *

During lunch Hedwig arrived with a special edition of the Daily Prophet, Harry immediately grabbed it to find out what was going on.

 _ **Dangerous Creatures Act Updated  
By Rita Skeeter**_

 _ **This morning during an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot Minister Fudge pushed through the following amendments to the Dangerous Creatures Act.**_

 _ **1) Werewolves are required to register immediately with the Ministry; they will be given an identification bracelet and will be required to report to the Ministry two days before each Full Moon.**_

 _ **Failure to register will result in immediate execution when caught.**_

 _ **2) Centaurs are required to register immediately with the Ministry and will be given identification bracelets.**_

 _ **Failure to register will result in immediate execution when caught.**_

 _ **In addition the Ministry has declared the Goblin nation enemies of the Ministry due to the illegal seizure of Azkaban prison. As punishment for their crimes any Goblin who is discovered in the Wizarding world will be executed immediately. In additional the Ministry had issued seizure orders for Azkaban prison and Gringotts bank.**_

 _ **We have not been able to contact the Goblins to find out their response to these changes but are able to tell you that Gringotts bank has been closed effective immediately.**_

 _ **When questioned about these changes Minister Fudge responded.**_

 _ **"We have tolerated the illegal actions of the Goblins for far too long, it is time for us to put them in their proper place."**_

 _ **When asked when Gringotts was due to reopen the Minister stated that it would be as soon as they had taken control of the bank.**_

 _ **Given the success of the attack on Azkaban prison, see page 4, we at the Daily Prophet sincerely hope that everyone has another source of money as they will not be accessing their accounts for a long time.**_

"What the bloody hell is wrong with that idiot," shouted Harry once he had finished reading the article.

"This is exactly what Tom would want," replied Ginny angrily.

"We are going to have act much sooner than we thought, we cannot allow Fudge to continue destroying out world," stated Harry as he looked at his friends and mentors.

"Tonks, can you please contact Amelia Bones and request a meeting with her?" asked Harry.

"I will contact her immediately," replied Tonks before leaving the room.

"Remus, I am afraid you will need to stay here until this mess is sorted out, I don't trust Fudge, I have a feeling that as soon as any werewolf turns up they will be executed," continued Harry.

"I agree," replied Remus sadly. "I will reach out to the other werewolves that I trust and tell them to stay well hidden for now."

Harry turned to the New Marauders "There are several things that we must take care of before we can move forward. I need you all to except Hermione back at Hogwarts, preparing the DA, I am not sure what will happen when we deal with Fudge but I don't want Umbridge to be able to do anything. Sirius please can you accompany them and talk to the Professors you trust also."

They each acknowledged Harry's request before leaving.

"Arthur, Molly once we move forward on this we are going to assign you each a seat on the Wizengamot one in the Weasley name and the other in the Prewitt name. We need you to go and review the rules and procedures so that you are ready to take the seats once they are assigned," Harry told the shocked pair.

"Thank you, Harry," was all Arthur could say before dragging Molly towards the library.

"Albus, we think that we may be able to use Phoenix magic to help trace the soul fragments that Tom embedded in his Horcruxes, however to be certain we must get one that is still intact. We believe that there is one at a house that once belonged to Tom's mother's family, we need to determine where that is," Harry told him once everyone else had left.

"I know of that house, it has been empty for many years," replied Albus.

"That makes sense, there are certain to be many curses protecting the item. We will need to be very cautious when approaching it," replied Harry. "We will leave this evening to retrieve the item."

"Ginny, I need you to work with Hermione to see if you can adapt the trace that Fudge has been using. If we can find a way of making the trace link to each of the Dark Marks then we should be able to use it against Tom."

Harry could see that Hermione was already deep in thought as they both left towards the library.

' _Xavier, please can you send a message to Ranok requesting a meeting urgently?_ '

' _Yes, Harry, I will return shortly,_ ' replied Xavier before flashing out of the room.

"I need to visit Ranok, once I have finished there we will retrieve the Horcrux," Harry told Albus before disappearing from the room.

* * *

Xavier arrived back a few minutes later to say that Ranok was ready to meet with Harry.

Harry went to their bedroom and changed into his finest dress robes.

' _Ginny, sorry to stop your research, you need to come to this meeting too,_ ' Harry stated when he realized.

' _Okay, give me a moment to pass the information I have found to Hermione._ '

While waiting Harry summoned their swords, which were still in the Founder's Study. Ginny arrived at the same time and quickly changed into a matching set of robes. They secured their swords on their waists and then flashed directly to Ranok's office.

"Good afternoon, Ranok, most noble and courageous leader of the Goblin nation," Harry said in perfect Goobledegook.

"Good afternoon, Lord and Lady Potter, Heirs of Gryffindor, Prince and Princess of the Phoenix Realm, and Heirs of Merlin," replied Ranok in perfect English.

Ranok offered Harry and Ginny seats and asked the Goblin Warriors to wait outside.

"Ranok, your people have been treated very poorly by my people for far too long; it is time for us to resolve this unfortunate situation," stated Harry.

"How can we resolve this situation with the current leadership in the Wizarding Government?" asked Ranok.

"I will soon invoke the ancient laws of Merlin to have the Government replaced, new leadership will be chosen by Ginny and I. We are also reforming the Council of Magic that existed in the time of Merlin; each race will be represented by two members. The council will oversee the Wizarding World and have a say in all laws that are decided.

"Ginny and I represent the humans; King Archimedes and Queen Amelia represent the Phoenixes. We would like to extend an offer to you and your mate to represent the Goblin nation," replied Harry.

"Janakie and I would be honoured to serve with you on the council," replied Ranok immediately.

"When the time comes the council will be summoned to review the candidates to lead the Wizarding Government and leadership will be rotated among all members of the council, no longer will the humans be the sole leaders. The council will advise the minister and must approve any proposed laws before they are brought before the full Wizengamot which will also include equal representation among all members of the council.

"Ranok, we will be proposing that Amelia Bones serve as the next Minister unless you have any objections. We will also be creating the new position of Vice Minister which is also an elected post and we propose Arthur Weasley for this position," added Harry.

"I don't have any objections, Harry, both have been completely respectful in all their dealings with the Goblin's and will serve well," replied Ranok.

"Ranok, as part of the new Government we would request that you continue to run Gringotts bank, however we must insist that the accounts of all known Death Eaters be frozen. Any Death Eater who attempts to enter the bank is also to be arrested and sent to Azkaban. We would also request that you run Azkaban prison officially," announced Harry.

"We would be honoured to run these institutions, and will implement the request immediately," replied Ranok with an evil smile.

"Thank you, I am sure we will soon have a number of guests for you at Azkaban. I fully expect the prison to be run under Goblin laws until the new council can create new rules," replied Harry with an equally evil smile.

"We understand," replied Ranok who was a little surprised given how prisoners are treated under Goblin law.

"Harry, in return we the Goblin nation fully support Ginny and you and will unite behind any leadership that you put in place. We will also assign a detail of Elite Goblin Warriors as personal protection for you, they will remain invisible unless either of you are in immediate danger," announced Ranok.

Immediately a team of heavily armed Elite Goblin Warriors appeared in the room to introduce themselves and then immediately disappeared, Harry could sense they were still in the room but were using advanced stealth charms.

"The Warriors will not intrude on your personal privacy but will be close by whenever you are out in public," added Ranok.

"We are honoured to be under the protection of these fine warriors," replied Harry.

"Soon it will be time to bring Minister Fudge to justice for his numerous crimes; I know you have been working closely with Bill Weasley for that thank you. I need you to tell our guards that Ginny must be arrested by Fudge and taken to the Ministry. While there we know that he will try to attack Ginny, the guards must allow him to get close enough to make it look like he is succeeding, as soon as he touches her however they are to intervene. I am afraid that some may be gravely injured but the complaint from you for this action will be the trigger we need to start the proceedings," explained Harry.

"Harry, it is the highest honour in our nation to die while protecting someone as important as Ginny or yourself. They will be instructed to follow your request and will report back to me exactly what happens," replied Ranok all the Elite Warriors acknowledged the request before disappearing again.

"Please can you setup a trust to help those who have been affected by the war? The council will authorize any payments from this trust to ensure no false claims are made. The trust will be funded by seventy percent of the proceeds from any vaults owned by convicted Death Eaters, with the other thirty percent going to the bank as a processing fee."

"We will establish the trust as requested, however we will only accept a ten percent processing fee and will deposit the rest into the trust," replied Ranok knowing that some in the Goblin nation would be upset at turning down such a large amount. However Ranok knew that it would carry a lot of weight in the future and show that the Goblins could be trusted.

Harry and Ginny acknowledged what Ranok had said before disappearing from his office closely followed by the Elite guard, who dispersed around the perimeter of Potter Castle, as they could and would not enter the perimeter, unless someone had found a way in; or if either Harry or Ginny were in immediate danger.

* * *

Fudge was not willing to back down regarding Azkaban and decided it was time to call in some hired help from several of his associates. Once all the arrangements were made Fudge had two hundred mercenaries from around the world who were eager to fight the Goblins. Add to that the ministry works that stayed loyal to him and were just as eager to fight; Fudge has managed to put together a sizable strike force.

Kingsley Shacklebolt had been running an errand when he walked past the Minister's office.

"Weasley, I need you to get a contract together for the mercenaries who will be assisting us retake Azkaban, make it clear to them that if they agree to our terms they will be paid a bonus for each Goblin they kill.

"Once the contracts are signed send a message to all Ministry workers who wish to remove the Goblins from Azkaban to meet at the Atrium in thirty minutes," shouted Fudge from his office.

Kingsley immediately rushed to the office of Amelia Bones, on the way he sent a Patronus message to Dumbledore, advising him what was happening. As soon as he arrived in the office he sealed the door and made sure his badge was deactivated before telling Amelia the information.

"That man is going to get us all killed, he is playing right into Voldemort's hands," spat Amelia in disgust when she heard the news.

"I would not be surprised if he wasn't already working for Voldemort," replied Kingsley.

"Surely we should be able to use that to get him out office?" added Kingsley afterward.

"Normally yes but we would have to prove it and he has made so many subtle changes to the law that it would be impossible at the moment, our only hope is the heir of Merlin but as we still don't know if they even exist there isn't a whole lot of hope," replied Amelia sadly.

As they continued talking a Phoenix Patronus appeared acknowledging the message from Kingsley and telling him that it has been taken care of. At the same time Tonks arrived to talk with Amelia. Kingsley immediately removed the seal on the door to let her in then resealed the room.

"Good afternoon, Sr. Auror Shacklebolt, Madam Bones," Tonks said as she entered the office.

"Madam Bones, I have come on the request of Harry Potter, he has requested a meeting with you," announced Tonks.

"Thank you, can I ask what the meeting is about?" asked Amelia.

"I am unable to reveal that information, however it does relate to the current situation that we find ourselves in," replied Tonks.

"I see, in that case, please tell Mr. Potter that I would be very happy to meet with him. However I suggest that it not be here."

"I will advise Harry, he will be able to provide a secure meeting place," Tonks told her. "Thank you for your time, I believe there is another crisis that will be needed to be handled with care."

"Yes, unfortunately there is," replied Amelia before they all left her office.

* * *

Harry and Albus were discussing their plan to find and visit the old Gaunt family house when a Patronus message arrived for Albus.

 _Albus, Minister Fudge is preparing to attack Azkaban again he has brought in mercenaries and has put together a sizable strike force. They are planning to leave in the next thirty minutes and Fudge has put a bounty on each Goblin's head._

As soon as the message finished Harry flashed directly to Ranok's office.

"Ranok, Fudge is planning to attack Azkaban again, he has hired mercenaries to help and has put a bounty on each Goblin they kill," Harry said without waiting for any acknowledgement that he had arrived.

"Thank you, Harry, I will sent two more battalions to Azkaban," replied Ranok.

"I have ordered the Phoenix battalion back as well," added Harry.

"Azkaban is sovereign Goblin territory, therefore you can deal with any prisoners as you see fit. If Fudge is captured then please release him with a strong final warning," requested Harry.

"We will ensure he is released," replied Ranok before disappeared to send his troops. Harry returned to Potter Castle to continue the planning for their trip.

* * *

"Thank you all for coming this morning, as you are well aware the Goblins have defied us once again, and this time they will pay dearly. We will leave immediately for Azkaban Island, you are all authorized to use whatever force you need to subdue the Goblins," announced Fudge.

"Once we reach make sure you take cover immediately and wait for them to attack," continued Fudge. "The Portkeys will activate in thirty seconds."

Thirty seconds later 313 witches and wizards disappeared from the Atrium and arrived at the Azkaban Island Apparation point. They were surprised to see no Goblins around and therefore didn't take cover as quickly as they should have.

Fudge being his normal arrogant self took this as a sign that the Goblins had cowered in fear and immediately moved towards the main prison entrance. However he quickly stopped when a thousand heavily armed Goblin Warriors appeared and completely surrounded them.

"Attack," shouted Fudge who immediately launched a Killing curse at the nearest Goblin before diving for cover.

Immediately both sides launched into battle with curses flying in all directions, the Mercenaries were working efficiently in teams alternating between attack and defense however they were no match for the Goblin Warriors and were badly outnumbered. Most of the Ministry workers had fallen in the first few minutes of the battle as they were not prepared for such a strong defense.

Fudge looked around after several minutes since they arrived and realized that he had once again failed completely and to make matters worse a lot of their people had fallen. Fudge immediately activated an emergency Portkey to return him to his office; however nothing happened as the anti-Portkey and anti-Apparation wards had been activated upon their arrival.

The last remaining Mercenaries were quickly dealt with and the only person who was still able to do anything was Fudge. For the first time in his life he actually made a sensible decision and immediately dropped his wand and surrendered to the Goblin Warriors who had completely surrounded him.

Moments later Ranok arrived with his Elite guard.

"Minister Fudge, you have once again attacked the Goblin nation and as you can see you have failed miserably. As punishment for your crimes your accounts at Gringotts have been frozen.

"You have caused the deaths of thirty five Goblin Warriors today a fine of 25,000 Galleons per Warrior will be taken from your account and paid to the families of these fine warriors," Ranok announced.

"You cannot do that, you no longer have the right to run Gringotts or Azkaban," replied Fudge angrily as he realized that the fine alone would take most of his money.

Ranok was tempted to reveal that they did have the right but Harry had asked him not to say anything at the moment about the agreements.

"Minister Fudge, you are in no position to argue," replied Ranok with a toothy smile as he watch Fudge squirm.

"I will let you go this time," replied Ranok. "However everyone else who has been involved in this attack will be secured in Azkaban prison to await a Goblin trial for their crimes against our nation."

"I demand you release them all immediately or you will suffer the consequences," shouted Fudge as his anger increased.

Ranok snapped his fingers and Fawkes appeared and took Fudge back to his office again dropping him.

Moment later Harry appeared next to Ranok, "Thank you for returning him, we will soon be able to put our plan into action. Please let me know the names of all the Warriors who died today so we can honour them when the time comes, also arrange for an additional 25,000 Galleons to be paid to each family from my family vault."

"That isn't necessary, Harry," replied Ranok.

"It may not be necessary but it is going to happen, they lost their lives because of the greed of a few humans. I want them to see that Fudge's views do not represent the views of everyone," replied Harry kindly.

"In that case Harry, the Goblin nation thanks you for your generosity," replied Ranok.

"Oh one last thing, I have a few guests at Potter Castle who I would like to have removed, I will send them over later today," Harry said before disappearing back to Potter Castle.

Ranok once again smiled evilly before declaring to his second, "I think we are going to have a very profitable relationship with Mr. Potter. Please ensure that the money is taken from his account and the Fudge account and is paid to the families immediately. Remember to apply the standard five percent handling charge for the transactions from the Fudge vault."

* * *

' _Gin, we are ready to leave,_ ' announced Harry as he and Albus applied a number of concealment charms. Harry had also changed his appearance so that even if someone spotted Albus they would not know who he was with.

' _I will be right there,_ ' replied Ginny who had been working with Hermione since returning from Gringotts earlier.

Ginny appeared in the room a few seconds later.

"Take care, Xavier and I will be monitoring you the whole time," Ginny said after hugging Harry for a few minutes.

"We will, if anything goes wrong we will wait for you to come and help," replied Harry before kissing her soundly.

"Harry, we need to arrive a good distance from the house so we can determine if there any traps around the house," explained Albus as they were about to leave.

"Okay, I saw a wooded area about half a mile from the house that would allow us to arrive undetected," replied Harry.

Moments later Harry flashed them both to the area; once they arrived he immediately reached out with his Phoenix senses to see what was around.

"You were right Albus, there are several perimeter wards around the house," announced Harry as he lead them forward slowly.

"We will need to remove each one without tripping the others," replied Albus as they continued to approach the first ward.

Harry stopped them and looked carefully at the ward with his Phoenix senses, "This is an older ward, there doesn't appear to be any links to other wards."

Harry made a note of the ward so they could replace them all later, at the same time Albus removed it quickly but carefully.

They continued towards the house and had to remove several other wards again each time making a note of it and then removing it.

"This final ward is linked to some wards in the house," announced Harry. "However I believe that we can create a portal through it, the ward is designed to activate the others only when it is taken down or someone attempts to pass through it. The portal will allow us to enter without breaking it."

"That's brilliant Harry, I would have never thought to use a portal to get through a ward before," replied Albus who was rather amazed.

"I hadn't until just now," Harry said before appearing to think.

' _Gin, can you ask Xavier to check our wards and ensure that no one can attempt what we are about to do._ '

' _Yes,_ ' replied Ginny quickly.

Harry created the portal and as expected they were able to pass through and were standing at the front door of the house. Albus waved his wand and noticed several more wards and a few nasty charms on and around the door.

After carefully removing each they entered the house for the first time, what they found made them feel very sick. In the middle of the room where two badly mutilated bodies that had not been there that long but long enough to fill the air with a nasty odor. Once they had placed Bubblehead charms on themselves they approached the bodies carefully.

"Looks like the Death Eaters got closer than we realized," announced Albus as they turned them over.

"Yes, maybe we shouldn't put all the wards back up when we leave, we need them to get the fake Horcrux," suggested Harry.

"Agreed, let's worry about that once we have secured the real one," replied Albus.

They slowly and carefully searched the room, Harry using his Phoenix sense and Albus using a verity of spells. Just as they were about to give up Harry noticed one of the floorboards was slightly loose and redirected his attention there.

"Found it," announced Harry happily.

After a careful check they slowly lifted the floorboard to reveal a deep hole. They could see an object at the bottom; they could not see any further protections around it.

"It seems that Tom didn't think anyone would get this far," stated Albus before they levitated the object out of the hole.

The object was an old box that they guessed belonged to Tom at some point, once it was placed on the floor they checked it again and then opened it to reveal a ring. As soon as the box was opened Albus felt pulled towards it, Harry wasn't affected by this due to his bond and was able to stop Albus from touching it.

Harry levitated the ring from the box and placed it into a box they had brought with them once it was sealed Albus no longer felt the pull from the ring.

They then placed a fake ring which contained poison that would weaken Tom even more and delay his recovery even more. They believed that once the ritual was performed the object would dissolve causing the poison to mix with the potion and then be administered to Tom.

Harry then replaced the box and floorboard before putting up weaker versions of the wards they had found so the Death Eaters would be able to break though and get the ring.

Once they had finished Harry flashed them back to Potter Castle and a very happy Ginny.

* * *

Just as Harry and Ginny where heading to bed they felt the pull of the Dark Mark, they quickly entered Tom's mind to find out what was happening. As soon as they were in their normal spot they heard the lead Death Eater talking again.

"Friends, the time has come for us to act, our Master would not be happy to wake up and find that we had not done anything to help the cause.

"So far we have not been able to get to the object that we need to help our Master; we have lost two colleagues in the attempt. Malfoy, we need your expertise to complete this mission; the wards around the house are extensive and will have to be taken down carefully.

"The Dementors are off feeding themselves at the moment, the more damage they do the better. The rest of us should follow their example and cause as much damage as we can to the Muggle world. I suggest that we divide ourselves into several teams and each select an individual target to attack.

"I have heard from our contact at Hogwarts that Harry Potter and his whore Weasley have not been in school for some time. One of the Ravenclaw tarts attempted to break them up and is still trying to, I have instructed out contact to give her all the aid she needs to succeed. Once they are broken up we will capture the whore and she will be our toy. Potter will do anything to help someone he cared for and we can use that to our advantage.

"If we have Potter in custody when our Master returns then I am sure he will greatly reward us all."

They could hear a number of conversations going on around but were not able to pick out many details. After a while they gave up and returned to their own minds.

' _I cannot believe Cho is still determined to break us up. She will be even more dangerous now,_ ' Ginny said.

' _Don't worry, with the Elite guards and us checking anything we eat or drink at Hogwarts I don't think there will be much she can do,_ ' replied Harry.

' _I should have taken care of her after the last attack,_ ' replied Ginny angrily.

' _There would have been too many witnesses, they would have been justified in arresting you then,_ ' Harry told her before comforting her in the bond.

They soon feel asleep and shared a wonderful dream about the forest they had explored when with Merlin.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two**

The next morning Harry and Ginny immediately advised Albus and the others what they had heard during the Death Eater meeting the night before.

"This is troubling news, Harry. We don't have the numbers to deal with the Dementors and Death Eaters. Fudge is blocking any attempt to increase the number of employee's in the Auror department. In spite of all the evidence, the majority of people still believe that Voldemort is dead and the attacks were caused by rogue Death Eaters trying to get some glory," Albus told them.

"Albus, as you know the Goblin nation has pledged their support. They have two battalions of Goblin Warriors on standby. If we detect an attack, then they will fight with us," replied Harry. "I have also redeployed the Phoenix battalion around the country again; they are on the lookout for any type of attack by Dementors or Death Eaters."

"That will make things easier. With the Goblin's help, we should be able to take care of the trouble quickly," replied Albus.

They continued to discuss what had happened during the meeting and the fact that Malfoy had been assigned the task of getting the ring from Gaunt House.

"Harry, we should strengthen some of the wards. Malfoy will get suspicious if he finds that they are too weak," suggested Albus.

"I agree, and we will need to take care of that today."

"Albus, Madam Bones has agreed to meet with us today. Ranok offered to let us use a conference room, at Gringotts. We will need to arrange transport for her as Xavier will be busy later today."

"Fawkes will be available, I am sure we can ask him," Albus offered.

"Thank you, after the meeting I would like you and Minerva to join us. Ranok is hosting a lunch for us so that we can meet with several key people in the Goblin Nation," Harry told him.

"Thank you, Harry, I will advise Minerva and will wait for a message from you."

"This will be a formal event," added Harry.

Harry and Ginny disappeared to their room so they could change into their formal dress robes and once again took out their swords. Harry was still getting used to some of the finer points of their titles. He didn't fully understand why they needed the swords but it was very clear that not having them would be disrespectful. They had already advised Amelia to dress in her formal robes so that she didn't feel out of place.

Harry and Ginny arrived in Ranok's office five minutes before the meeting was due to start.

"Good morning Lord and Lady Potter" greeting Ranok officially as was the custom.

"Good morning, Master Ranok leader of the Goblin Nation," replied Harry before they all relaxed.

"Harry, Madam Bones is waiting in conference room three. When you are ready I will announce you and then leave you to your meeting. The elite guards will be stationed outside the room."

"Thank you we are ready to proceed."

The three of them made their way to the conference room; Ranok went in first and made the announcement.

"Madam Bones, may I present you Lord and Lady Potter, Heirs of Gryffindor, Prince and Princess of the Phoenix Realm and Heirs of Merlin."

To say that Amelia was shocked would be an understatement. The fact that she collapsed into her chair upon hearing the titles that Harry and Ginny had, showed just how amazed she was.

As soon as she saw them she knew that everything Ranok said had been true. Suddenly it became very clear to her what was happening.

"My apologies Lord and Lady Potter, I am most ashamed to say I doubted the information Master Ranok gave me," replied Amelia deeply embarrassed for the insult.

"Madam Bones, you have not insulted us at all. We expected you to be shocked and quite honestly if you had just accepted it, then the meeting would have been over before it started," replied Harry.

Harry then proceeded to show her the family rings that proved beyond doubt that Harry was who he claimed to be.

"Madam Bones, before we proceed I must insist that you agree to an Unbreakable Vow that you will not reveal anything that is discussed today until we are ready," announced Harry.

"I Amelia Bones, Head of the House Bones, swear an Unbreakable Vow to Lord and Lady Potter that I will not reveal what is discussed today," she replied immediately.

"Madam Bones, what do you know of the ancient laws?" asked Harry once they had settled down around the conference table.

"I have studied them for many years," replied Amelia.

"Then you know the significance of me being Merlin's heir?"

"Yes, at present you are the only one who can do anything to have Fudge removed from office."

"That is correct. However we cannot move just yet as the only way to call a full meeting of the Wizengamot would be to reveal who I am. That would give Fudge time to prepare," explained Harry.

"How can we do this then?" asked Amelia.

"As you know a warrant was issued for Ginny's arrest. Fudge is going to be allowed to take her into custody once we decide to return to Hogwarts. We strongly suspect that Fudge will try something when she is in custody which will lead to our Elite Guards protecting her. Fudge will not like having them there and will be told by Ranok that the only way for them to be removed is for the trial to proceed and the judgement to be passed.

"Once the trial begins I will then reveal myself and knowing Fudge he will challenge my heritage. We both know what that means," Harry told her.

"The only way to resolve such a challenge would be a duel to the death," replied Amelia with a smile.

"If he doesn't challenge it, then I will call for the charges to be dropped as the warrant was issued in the wrong name. Miss Weasley hasn't existed since last Christmas and therefore the warrant is invalid. I will then challenge Fudge to a duel for the attempted attack on Ginny when in custody," added Harry.

"Mr. Potter, while I am happy to hear all this I am a little confused as to why you are telling me?"

"First please call me Harry. We are telling you because we have been advised that you are trustworthy and refused to get involved in either of the attacks against the Goblins. Once we have dealt with Fudge, I will be able to nominate candidates for Minister of Magic as well as the new position of Vice Minister of Magic that will be created. After careful consideration we have decided to nominate you and Mr. Weasley to the posts. Ranok has already given his approval for this and is willing to work with you once elected."

"Why would Ranok have to approve the appointment of Minister?" asked Amelia.

"I have re-established the council of magic that existed in Merlin's time; each magical race will have equal representation on the council. Ginny and I represent the humans, Ranok and his mate represent the Goblins, and King Archimedes and his mate represent the Phoenixes.

"The council will advise the government of the Wizarding World to ensure that any laws are not biased towards a particular race as has happened since Fudge took office. In addition the Wizengamot will no longer be only for the humans but every race in the council will have equal representation. We will not be able to implement this right away, but once the unfair rules created by Fudge has been removed, it will happen," replied Harry.

"I must advise you now that I have asked the Goblins to run Azkaban and Gringotts. Their security is much better than ours and they are much more careful about keeping track of money or prisoners. They have also pledged their support for me and will come to our aid when needed."

"Once elected the first thing you need to do is officially acknowledge that Voldemort has returned, and then I suggest you publish information that clearly shows his true identity. Lord Voldemort as he calls himself is actually Tom Marvolo Riddle, born to Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle who was a muggle. I have a Goblin identification parchment which can be used to verify this information and will provide this to you once you take office."

"You cannot be serious; the most feared Dark Lord ever is actually a half-blood?" asked Amelia in surprise before she realized that Harry too was a half-blood and clearly very powerful. "I'm very sorry Lord Potter; I didn't mean to insult you with that statement."

"Don't worry Madam Bones, however that is one prejudice that will not be tolerated in the future. You do know that two of the brightest witches of recent times have been Muggleborns, don't you?"

"I was not aware of that," replied Amelia looking ashamed.

"Lily Potter and Hermione Granger have both proven without a doubt that Tom Riddle is very wrong in his assumption that Magic should be limited to pure-bloods. That is also why limiting the rights of the other magical races has been slowly destroying our world and must be stopped for us to survive as a Magical Race," finished Harry.

"Thank you, Lord Potter; you have given me a lot to think about. I can tell you know that I am very honoured that you have considered me for the post of Minister and I will endeavour to serve well," replied Amelia.

"I know you will Amelia, I look forward to working with you in the future. Now we have been invited to lunch with Ranok and several others," Harry told her before summoning Xavier.

"Xavier, please can you tell Albus that we are ready."

Xavier acknowledged the request before disappearing.

"You have a Phoenix?" asked Amelia who was once again surprised. "I thought it was Dumbledore's Phoenix who transported me earlier."

"Yes, we do," replied Harry. "And yes, it was Fawkes earlier; Xavier was busy on assignment for me at the time."

"I have never seen two Phoenixes so close together."

"There are many more Phoenix than people know about. Most of them stay hidden or live in the Phoenix realm. Only when a Phoenix bonds does it show itself," explained Harry.

They continued to talk as they made their way to the large conference room that would be hosting the lunch.

* * *

Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Umbridge was not happy. Despite interrogating most of the students she had not been able to determine who had attacked her during breakfast the previous day. She had her suspects but could not prove anything.

To add to it all Professor McGonagall had just informed her that she had been summoned to an official meeting and therefore wouldn't be able to teach her classes for the afternoon.

"Minister, why was I not invited to this official meeting?" asked Umbridge as soon as she had Floo called.

"What are you talking about? I have not called any official meetings," replied Fudge.

"McGonagall just told me she had been summoned to an official meeting; I assume that it must be with the Ministry."

"There are no meetings going on at the moment. I suggest that you ask her when she returns what she has been doing," replied Fudge before dismissing her.

"Lissy!" shouted Umbridge angrily.

A few seconds later a house elf appeared in her office.

"Headmistress Umbridge called for Lissy?"

"Yes, I want you to tell me immediately when Professor McGonagall returns to the castle."

"Yes Headmistress," replied Lissy before disappearing again.

Umbridge started pacing her office. There was more going on in the school than she realized and she was determined to find out what. She decided that the best way to proceed was to give certain students more responsibility and allow them to assign detentions and take away house points.

She immediately setup the Inquisitorial squad and invited those who she knew were loyal to her and Voldemort to join. The students quickly assembled in her office.

"Thank you for joining. You have all shown loyalty to this office and will be rewarded above the others. I have a mission for you: I believe there is something happening in the school involving a number of the students. They are far more advanced than they should be and someone is training them. I want you to find out who and where they are meeting so we can stop them," Umbridge announced as she gave them each a badge.

She then posted notices around the school introducing the Inquisitor squad and detailing their responsibilities. The news was not well received and The New Marauders vowed to make their lives miserable, with the hopes that they would quickly decide it wasn't worth serving.

* * *

Harry, Ginny and Amelia walked into the large conference room to find Ranok talking with several other Goblins, each of whom appeared to hold a high rank in the Goblin government.

"Lord and Lady Potter, Madam Bones, please allow me to introduce my mate Janakie," Ranok said before Janakie came forward.

"Janakie, it is a pleasure to meet you," said Ginny in perfect Goobledegook surprising everyone except Ranok and Harry.

"It is a pleasure to meet you too, I am honoured to be greeted in my native tongue and return the honour," replied Janakie in perfect English.

Amelia greeted Janakie too before they moved on.

"I would also like to introduce my second in command Henmock and his mate Grettena."

Harry and Ginny again greeted them in Goobledegook before they continued on toward the final Goblin pair.

"Finally I would like to introduce Jemdale and his mate Yerti, who will be in charge of Azkaban prison," finished Ranok before moving the party to the dining table.

By this time both Albus and Minerva had arrived and Harry introduced them.

"Ranok, I would like to present Lord Dumbledore and Lady McGonagall. I have asked their presence here today so we can discuss the situation with Hogwarts and what will happen once Minister Fudge has been removed from office," announced Harry.

Harry could see that Albus had not told Minerva any of the details of what had happened since they left Hogwarts after the attack.

"Professor, I can see you are a little confused by what is happening here. Let me introduce us properly and I think this will help you understand. I am Lord Harry James Potter and this is my wife Lady Ginevra Molly Potter, Heirs of Gryffindor, Prince and Princess of the Phoenix realm, Heirs of Merlin."

The expression on Minerva's face was priceless. She sat there for several minutes opening and closing her mouth without saying anything.

"I don't believe that I have ever seen our esteemed Professor quite so speechless," said Albus after a while causing everyone including the Goblins to chuckle and earning Albus a dirty look that clearly told everyone else that he was in trouble later.

"Young love," whispered Harry to Ginny causing her to choke on her drink.

"Well Lord Potter, I must say I am both shocked and very pleased to hear that," Minerva finally replied.

"Please when we are in private call me Harry. I take it from your response that you understand the implications of my heritage?"

"Yes, Harry, I have studied the ancient laws for many years and I am well aware of what it means."

As they were talking and getting to know each other several Goblins arrived with the first course of their meal. Ranok explained that Goblins were rather fond of prawns too as they tucked into their prawn cocktails.

"Minerva, the time will soon come when we will make our move to remove Fudge from office. We need you to be ready to lock down the school the moment the news comes out. Madam Umbridge will not be at the school because it will happen during Ginny's trial and as she is bringing up the charges, she has to be there. There are still certain elements in the school who would like to take over. They will seize the opportunity if we are not prepared.

"As you know, The New Marauders have been active in the school this year. They are not just a group who have been causing trouble but have personally trained with Ginny and me under the tutoring of Albus and Sirius Black all summer. In additional under the guidance of Albus a secret club has been meeting at Hogwarts regularly to train those students who are willing to learn. They are all loyal to Albus and when the time comes will stand up to whatever challenges the school faces."

"In addition Fawkes and Xavier have been enhancing the wards around Hogwarts to make it much harder for someone to enter. Finally the Goblins have offered their support too. They have two battalions of Goblin Warriors on standby and will send them where needed, should anything happen.

"Amelia, the same needs to apply for the ministry. There will be those who are loyal to Fudge who will not be happy when he is fired. They will believe it is the perfect opportunity to strike. We will need to act quickly once you are in office to secure the ministry. The Goblin Warriors will be available should any attacks happen during that time."

"Thankfully Tom Riddle has still not recovered from the recent battle at St. Mungo's so he is less of a threat. However we recently observed a Death Eater meeting and they have decided to mobilise themselves. While they will not be as well organized as they were when Tom was around, they will still be a threat and may actually be more dangerous because they are disorganized and not going after a specific target. We have Phoenixes placed throughout the country watching for trouble; however we may not be able to stop all the attacks before they cause damage."

"Harry, I am overwhelmed by everything you have told me this evening," Minerva said when Harry had finished. "What I am struggling to understand is why the Goblins would be so willing to help after the way they have been treated by our Ministry, especially given the events at Hogwarts and Azkaban in recent days."

"A long time ago the magical races lived peacefully together; over the years the humans have eroded that peace by believing themselves to be superior to the other creatures. Tom Riddle will stop at nothing to have complete power over the Wizarding and then Muggle worlds. In order to do this he must destroy anything that threatens that. Lord Potter is our only hope of defeating the darkness that is coming and therefore we the Goblin Nation have pledged out support to him," answered Ranok.

"Ranok, I would like to apologize on behalf of the staff at Hogwarts for the way your people were treated recently. The actions of Minister Fudge and Headmistress Umbridge in no way reflect the feelings of most of the staff at the school who welcome peace with the Goblin Nation," McGonagall said.

"Lady McGonagall, we know that you were not responsible for what happened at Hogwarts but we thank you for your sincerity," replied Ranok.

The rest of the meal was spent talking about how they could all work together in the future to ensure peace. Ranok told Albus and Minerva that he would be happy to send a Goblin to teach at Hogwarts.

Just before they were ready to leave Fawkes appeared and started speaking with Albus.

' _Albus, one of the house elves has been ordered by Umbridge to watch for Minerva's return and report back to her. I don't know what she is planning but she did Floo call Minister Fudge before making the order._ '

' _Thank you Fawkes,_ ' replied Albus before turning to Harry.

"Harry, one of the house elves has been told to spy to on Minerva and report when she returns to the castle."

"I will take care of it."

' _Fawkes, can you tell me which elf it was?_ '

' _Lissy,_ ' replied Fawkes.

Harry and Ginny immediately disappeared from the conference room and they flashed to the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

"Lissy," called Harry.

A second later Lissy appeared in the room.

"Master Potter, called for Lissy?"

"Yes, Lissy, you are no longer to follow any orders given by Headmistress Umbridge," ordered Harry kindly.

"But she is Headmistress," replied Lissy.

"Hogwarts has not recognized her as Headmistress and neither shall you," replied Harry.

"Yes, Master Potter," replied Lissy clearly scared of what would happen when Umbridge found her.

"Please tell all the other elves, and if Umbridge attempts to hurt you, then you are to contact me immediately through Maxim."

"Thank you, Master Harry," replied Lissy before disappearing.

Harry and Ginny chatted with Godric and several other portraits, before sending a message to Albus that it was safe for Minerva to return. They then returned to Potter Castle.

* * *

Sirius stood in front of the D.A. members as they quickly gathered for another training session; they were rather surprised to find themselves in the Great Hall.

"First I have good news for you: Harry and Ginny are both doing well but cannot return at the moment," announced Sirius.

A loud cheer filled the room at the news.

"Today we want to try something different. I have asked several trusted people to simulate an attack on Hogwarts using training dummies. I don't know what they are planning so we will need to adapt when the attack starts.

"The room has recreated a large section of Hogwarts which will be used during this session."

"During this session our attackers will only be using Stunners; but if you are hit you cannot be revived," explained Sirius.

"We need to determine where they could attack from and then make sure we have someone watching those entry points. The rest need to patrol around just in case they find another way in.

"Any suggestions on where we should station people?"

"The main entrance," shouted one of the third years.

"There are two hidden entrances on this floor that they could use," added George.

"Excellent! We need three teams to monitor those entrances. Everyone else break into groups of four and patrol. If you see anything suspicious report back immediately and monitor. Don't engage unless you are seen," Sirius told them.

The members split into various groups, quickly spread out and started patrolling. It wasn't long before the attack began as several loud explosions rocked the entrance doors.

A number of the younger members started to panic but were soon calmed down when the older members took control.

"Everyone, we need to remain calm. We don't know how many people are attacking. Spread out around the entrance hall and keep yourselves well hidden. Don't attack until I give the command," ordered George.

Everyone quickly followed his orders and took cover. They waited patiently as the explosions continued to hit the main doors.

"Can anyone see outside?" asked George once everyone had spread out.

When no one responded George realized their first mistake. They should have thought to post someone in a position to watch what was happening.

"Katie, we need to find a way to determining what we are up against," George said.

Before Katie could respond several Stunners flew towards them from behind their current positions.

"It's a trick!" shouted George as ten D.A. members were taken out.

The others tried to adapt but found that they were quickly outnumbered by the attackers.

"We need to regroup. Everyone find cover quickly and use shields," shouted George as another round of Stunners came towards them.

The D.A. members quickly reorganized themselves with several people taking command of those around them. They slowly but surely started to make progress against the attackers.

Just as they thought they were making progress, the front door finally crumbled from the continued onslaught and more attackers streamed into the entrance hall. The D.A. members who were closest immediately sent Stunners towards the attackers and were able to take out a quarter of them before any returned fire.

The battle intensified once the attackers were inside and able to find cover, but the D.A. stood their ground.

"Fred, I think it is time to try out some of our new inventions," shouted George.

"I agree, dear brother," replied Fred, before throwing several grenades towards the attackers in the entrance hall.

When they first exploded, it appeared that nothing had happened. However it soon became clear that they worked perfectly as several attackers stumbled around trying to find their way out.

"Get them," shouted Fred, as they got closer.

Fred and George used several Stun grenades next and took out a good number of attackers who had grouped together for protection.

"We are nearly there, but we cannot relax yet," George told several D.A. members who were taking a break from the fighting. "The sooner we take care of the attackers the sooner we can get back to bed."

Thirty minutes later the battle was over. The Room of Requirement had changed to its usual setup for the meetings. Once the students who had been stunned were revived, everyone was assembled.

"Well done everyone," Sirius said, as Dobby and several other elves brought them drinks.

"I would like to congratulate you all on how well you adapted during the attack, even when the attackers surprised you. I am particularly pleased at how well Susan Bones, Blaise Zabini, Colin Creevey and Ernie MacMillan took control of those around them. Without your quick thinking I don't believe we would have done so well.

"However we clearly have some lessons to learn which is why we staged the attack today."

"First, as George realized, we had no way of knowing who was outside attacking the main entrance. Second, we should have made sure the other entrances were still being watched, once the attack started.

"Today the attackers were only using Stunners but during a real attack it is certain they will be using Unforgivables which is why we must remember to keep cover as often as possible. Make them do the work and it will be easier for you. The Death Eaters have always done well in the past because people feared them. If they really had to fight hard in a battle, they would soon tire.

"Before you leave this evening, I want to encourage all of you to work on your fitness. Witches and Wizards often neglect this to their peril. We face uncertain times ahead with the closure of Gringotts and the trouble at the Ministry, so we must be prepared for anything," finished Sirius, before dismissing everyone.

* * *

The Dementors swooped in for another attack. They had been in hiding since the last attack, as they started breeding due to the amount of raw emotions they had consumed. Since some of the young were now old enough to join the attacks, they allowed them to lead, while the others stayed in hiding.

They targeted a bigger town this time, believing that they would not be detected, and would be able to get enough emotions to share with the others still in hiding. The young were told to concentrate on an orphanage in the town while the others swept in from each side taking out each house as they went.

The Phoenixes assigned to that area detected the attack immediately and sent word to Harry.

"Gin, wake up. The Dementors are attacking again," Harry told her, while climbing out of bed to change.

"Maxim," he called to the elf, who immediately popped into the room. "I need you to wake Remus, Tonks, Albus, Arthur and Molly. Tell them a town is under attack by Dementors and we need to leave immediately."

Harry quickly wrote a message to The New Marauders and Sirius, telling them to travel with Xavier and be ready to face Dementors. He then summoned Xavier and gave him the message, "Please take this to Hogwarts and wake Sirius; he will gather the others. When they are ready, transport them to the town."

Xavier acknowledged the request before flashing out of the room.

The others quickly gathered outside Harry and Ginny's room ready for battle.

"Let's go, the others will join us soon," Harry told them, before he and Ginny transformed and transported the others.

As soon as they arrived, they could see various groups of Dementors spread out around the town.

"We need to split up. Ginny and I will focus on the group in the middle of town. Stay in pairs and spread out. Albus the others will be here soon and Sirius will need a partner," explained Harry, before telling Xavier to appear next to Albus.

They quickly spread out. Harry and Ginny found the group in the centre to be large but not as efficient as they had seen before.

' _These look younger than any we have seen before,_ ' Ginny stated as her Fire Doe slammed into several, killing them instantly.

' _They must have started breeding. They couldn't while trapped at Azkaban as there were not enough souls for them,._ ' replied Harry as his Fire Stag took out several others.

Suddenly all the other Dementors came racing towards them in a vain attempt to protect their young.

' _Watch out, Harry, they are all heading towards you now,_ ' stated Xavier.

' _Gin, we need the Phoenix Patronus to hold these back until the others get here,_ ' stated Harry before grabbing her hand.

To their, and everyone else's, surprise the Fire Phoenix that appeared was twice as big as last time they cast it. The Dementors actually backed off at seeing the massive Phoenix but were not quick enough to escape as fifteen Fire Patronuses suddenly appeared and soon destroyed the remaining Dementors.

"Well done," Albus told everyone, once they had gathered. "Now all of us except Sirius, Tonks, Arthur and Molly need to leave before the Aurors arrive. I am certain the Minister will be here to try and cover this up."

"I agree, Albus," stated Harry, before turning to The New Marauders. "Before you leave, it appears that Umbridge has been using the house elves to spy. You need to watch out. I have ordered them to ignore Umbridge, but I don't know what will happen."

"We will watch out for them," stated Hermione.

"If you see anything, or are suspicious, call for Maxim and he will deal with it."

Xavier transported the six of them back to Hogwarts before returning.

' _Xavier, please remain close by. I don't trust Fudge and if he tries anything please transport them back to Potter Castle._ '

Xavier acknowledged the request before flying up and settling down beside Fawkes and the Phoenix guard who had reported the attack. Harry and Ginny grabbed Albus and Remus and flashed back to Potter Castle just as a series of pops announced the arrival of Aurors and Minister Fudge.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Fudge when he spotted the four gathered around the burned cloaks of the Dementors.

"There was a Dementor attack," replied Tonks, who was holding an Auror recording device.

"That is preposterous," replied Fudge. "The Dementors have not been seen since they left Azkaban Island."

"Yet we have a large number of cloaks and a recording device showing the attack," replied Tonks.

"You are no longer an Auror and therefore not authorized to use the recording devices," stated Fudge smugly. However before he could take the device Madam Bones appeared with Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Minister Fudge, I asked Auror Tonks to carry the recording devices as she has shown in the past to be reliable. I believe you remember what happened at St. Mungo's and it was clear then that she had been acting in the best interests of the Ministry," announced Amelia.

"You don't have the authority to do that," spat Fudge angrily.

"Actually Minister, according to the MLE rules the head of department has the authority to issue recording devices to anyone they believe responsible enough," replied Amelia, with a smile.

"Regardless, this was obviously another ploy by Albus Dumbledore to make us believe that He-who-must-not-be-named and his followers are active around the country," replied Fudge.

Moments later one of the Aurors, who had arrived with Fudge, returned from searching the town.

"Minister, we have searched the town and found five adults and eight children all dead. We have not been able to find any cause for the deaths," explained the Auror.

Fudge turned to Tonks, Sirius, Arthur and Molly before demanding an explanation.

"We have already explained," replied Tonks, before handing the recording devices to Amelia.

"I have heard enough of your lies.. Auror arrest these four immediately. Each is to be charged with thirteen counts of murder," ordered Fudge.

Before the Aurors could move in four Phoenixes appeared and grabbed onto each, or the four and disappeared in fireballs, knocking Fudge to the ground to the amazement of those around him. No one noticed the solitary Phoenix still watching over the scene reporting everything back to Harry.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Fudge stupidly.

"Well, Minister, it would seem that there are more Phoenixes around than we realized," replied Amelia happily.

"I knew Dumbledore was involved in this," Fudge stated.

"There is no evidence to support that charge, Minister."

"He is the only one who has a Phoenix," shouted Fudge.

Amelia knew that wasn't true but wasn't going to say anything as it would raise too many questions.

"Aurors, clean up this mess and report back to the Ministry. I want arrest warrants issued for the four of them and another for Albus Dumbledore," announced Fudge, before disappearing.

* * *

Back at Potter Castle Harry and Ginny transformed back to the human form, before relaying what had happened after they left.

"What can we do now?" asked Tonks, clearly upset that she couldn't move around freely now.

"We continue to prepare for Fudge's downfall. It. It is only a matter of time before we return to Hogwarts and then everything will happen quickly. Tonks, we need you to contact all the other Aurors who were fired with you. Don't tell them anything, but make sure they are ready if needed."

"Remus and Sirius, I need you at Hogwarts training the DA. They must be ready and willing to help. Please keep a watch over the house elves as well; I would not be surprised if Umbridge attacks them when she finds out they have been told not to serve her."

"Molly and Arthur, can you contact Augusta, Mr. and Mrs. Tonks and any others you trust from the Wizengamot and tell them to be ready. Again we cannot reveal what is going to happen but the more people who are ready the easier the transition will be," Harry stated.

None of the adults batted an eyelid as Harry once again issued orders to each of them. They quickly accepted the assignment and disappeared to carry it out.

"Albus, we have a Horcrux to investigate and deal with., and I believe the Potions lab will be the best place to take care of that," explained Harry, as they walked down the stairs towards the lab.

"We must be very careful, Harry," Albus said with concern.

"We will.. Xavier and Fawkes will be joining us and if there is any danger we will immediately flash out of the room," replied Harry, as they arrived at the door.

"We have researched the ritual that is used to embed the soul segment into the object and also how it is removed. The first thing we must do is place the object inside a container so that when we extract the soul segment it cannot escape. Once we have separated them we can destroy the soul segment without damaging the original object," explained Harry as he setup the container they were going to use.

"What are you going to do once you separate them?" asked Albus.

"We are going to study the soul segment with Phoenix magic to see if there is any way of tracing it. Once we have exhausted our search, we will embed it in the piece of wood and then drop it into the Basilisk venom, which will destroy it."

Harry approached the work bench slowly and opened the box containing the ring. Realizing that it would be too dangerous to touch the ring, he levitated it out of the box and placed it in the container with the block of wood and bowl of Basilisk venom before closing the lid to the clear container, and sealing it air tight.

' _Xavier, please can you place the strongest Phoenix ward you can around the container so that nothing can get out. We cannot risk the soul element getting out and returning to Tom,_ ' requested Harry, as he finished checking the seals on the container.

Xavier focused on the container before a barrier appeared around it. ' _It is finished Harry. Nothing can get through the barrier from the inside._ '

"Albus, to release the soul from the ring you need to cast the spell ' _Effrego animus vacuus suus entrapment_ '. We believe the power of the Elder wand will allow it to be released intact so we can study it," explained Harry.

Albus was slightly confused that Harry knew what the wand was as he had never told anyone he was master of the Elder Wand. "How did you know?"

"We learned about the Hallows while studying over the summer; that was when we realized the cloak that you returned to me my first Christmas was the true invisibility cloak, explaining why it had never faded or weakened in all the years it belonged to my family. Ginny realized you had the wand when she saw you using it during the training."

"Don't worry Albus, we know just how important it is that no one find out that you are the current master," added Harry, before Albus could say anything.

"Thank you, Harry," replied Albus with relief.

"Ginny and I will transform into our Phoenix form so we can use our Phoenix magic at its full power. Don't be surprised to see other Phoenixes join us while we examine the segment. We don't know how long the process will take or what we will learn from it," explained Harry.

"Once you have transformed, I will cast the spell and then wait until you have finished," replied Albus, before conjuring a purple plush chair to sit in.

Harry and Ginny transformed and flew above the workbench before settling down at two sides of the container. Fawkes and Xavier were already waiting at the other two sides.

' _We are ready._ ' Fawkes told Albus, who immediately cast ' _Effrego animus vacuus suus entrapment_ ' to free the soul segment. There was some resistance at first, but Albus refused to give up and after five minutes of constant bombardment by the spell the soul finally separated from the ring.

The four Phoenixes immediately started examining the segment as it flew around the container trying to find a way to escape. They watched it with great interest as the soul segment tried various techniques to break through the container.

' _The segment is self aware. It knows it is trapped and is trying to escape,_ ' stated Harry to the other three.

' _Do you think it would try to possess someone if it escaped like the diary or seek out Tom?_ ' asked Ginny, a little scared at the thought.

' _I don't want to find out,_ ' replied Harry.

An hour later they had not made any progress, and to make matters worse, the segment had almost broken out of the container once.

' _This is a waste of time,_ ' grumbled Ginny angrily.

' _I agree,_ ' stated Harry who was exhausted. ' _We knew it was a long shot but had to give it a try. I think we should call it a day and place the segment in the block before it manages to escape._ '

Xavier and Fawkes both agreed it was time. They could not risk the segment escaping the container as it would make it harder to destroy.

Once they had finished examining the soul segment, Harry transformed back to his human form before casting ' _Inreto is animus_ ' towards the soul segment and then moving it towards the block of wood. He was surprised by how hard the soul segment was fighting him. Ginny realized what was happening and gently took Harry's hand into her own giving him the strength needed to push the segment into the block of wood.

' _Thanks,_ ' Harry told her as he collapsed into the chair.

' _No problem,_ ' replied Ginny as she levitated the block into the Basilisk venom and watched as the block dissolved, destroying the soul segment in the process.

Xavier and Fawkes carefully examined the container to ensure the segment had been completely destroyed before removing the barrier so they could retrieve the ring and return the Basilisk venom back to its storage container.

Once the barrier had disappeared, Ginny removed the seals from the clear container and levitated the ring out lowering it into her left hand. As soon as the ring touched her outstretched hand, three objects in the room suddenly glowed bright gold before filling the room with light.

 _A/N: Here are the translations for the Spells using on the Horcruxes_

 _Effrego animus vacuus suus entrapment = Break the soul free from its entrapment  
Inreto is animus = Entrap this soul_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

When the light faded Harry, Ginny and Albus realized that they were no longer in the Potions lab at Potter Castle but somewhere else. As they looked around the room, they noticed another person standing to the side.

"Welcome," said the person once they spotted him.

"Who are you?" asked Albus as Harry and Ginny scanned the room with their Phoenix senses.

"I am Death. I have brought you here because you have finally united the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility and broken the curse over them."

"What do you mean, broken the curse?" asked Albus curiously.

"I knew the brothers' intentions when I created the objects. I wasn't going allow them to gain the immortality they wanted so I placed a curse on them.

"You, Albus Dumbledore, broke the curse on the Elder Wand when you became its master; although if you had become master when you first attempted to, you too would have fallen to its power. Only a master who used the Elder Wand to benefit others would break the curse."

Albus suddenly realized what Death meant.

"Yes, Albus, if you and Grindelwald had succeeded in your original plan, you would have been cursed too," answered Death to the unasked question.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter, you have both proven on multiple occasions that you are selfless and constantly put others before yourselves. Because of this, the curse on the Invisibility cloak was broken a long time ago, and now also on the Resurrection Stone."

"What does this mean?" asked Harry.

"It means that the three objects no longer serve any purpose, but more importantly they no longer have the power they once had and will disappear from existence. However before they do, you have one more test to fulfil. In order to remove the magic contained in the objects, it needs to be directed toward something. You three have a choice to make. Choose wisely as you will only get once chance at this," explained Death.

Before any of them could ask another question, Death disappeared from the room.

* * *

Meanwhile at Potter Castle, Fawkes, Xavier and the Elite Goblin Warriors were in a full panic as they had all detected Harry, Ginny and Albus' disappearance, but could find no trace of what happened.

Joghut, the captain of the Elite guard, contacted Ranok immediately to advise him that something was wrong. Fawkes disappeared to the Phoenix Realm to inform the Phoenix King and Xavier reached out to the Phoenix battalion to see if any of them could detect their presence.

Ranok arrived immediately with Bill Weasley.

"Report, Joghut," demanded Ranok.

"They were in the Potions lab taking care of something. Once they had finished, Mrs. Potter picked up the object. As soon as she did, a golden light filled the room and when it faded, the three of them had disappeared. We scanned the room for Portkey activity and there wasn't any."

"We checked their vaults before coming and they haven't been sealed so we know they are still alive at the moment," added Bill.

"Thank you. I suggest that we keep this quiet and wait to see what happens. If they have not returned by this evening, then we will need to come up with a plan," stated Ranok calmly. "Meanwhile please continue to patrol the castle and make sure we haven't missed anything."

The guards left immediately to patrol, while Bill and Ranok made their way to the sitting room to inform the others what was happening.

* * *

"What did he mean?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know for certain but the fact that he mentioned directing the magic at something could mean that it can be used to our benefit," replied Harry.

"I agree, Harry," stated Albus.

"So we just need to choose something to direct it towards, but we need to make sure that there will not be any limitation," added Ginny.

Harry paced the room for a few minutes, thinking about what they should do.

"Why don't we use it to destroy the rest of Tom's Horcruxes and then Tom?" asked Harry.

"That would certainly be beneficial to everyone, not just us," replied Albus.

They continued to debate the merits of this suggestion for some time. However before making a final decision, they decided that they should come up with some other suggestions.

"What about your parents?" suggested Albus. "I know your deepest desire before you married Ginny was to be with them again."

"I don't know. Yes at one time I would have desired that but I have met them now and they are so happy there," replied Harry.

They batted several more suggestions around before both men realized Ginny had not said anything for some time.

"What's wrong, Gin?"

"I was just thinking about the story of the three brothers. All the suggestions we have come up with so far fall into the same categories that caused the brothers' downfall in the end and every other Master of the objects before us. What if this final test is similar and we are falling into the same trap?"

Harry and Albus both stood there for several minutes, considering what Ginny had said.

"That makes a lot of sense," Albus finally stated as he slumped down into a chair.

"So what should we chose?" asked Harry

"Is there not anyone we know who can benefit from the magic?" asked Ginny in return, still deep in thought.

The three of them sat in silence for sometime before Ginny suddenly jumped up excitedly.

"Neville", exclaimed Ginny "remember when we protected St. Mungo's, we saw his parents there. We never did find out what happened to them."

"Of course. Albus, do you know what is wrong with them?" asked Harry.

"Yes, sadly I do. It happened not long after your parents were killed. Some of the Death Eaters refused to believe that Tom was gone so decided to search for him, believing that the Aurors had somehow arrested him.

"We lost a number of good people during their rampage, including Frank and Alice. The Lestrange brothers and Bellatrix broke into Longbottom Manor and tortured them for information. They refused to talk and ended up in St. Mungo's with permanent brain damage from overexposure to the Cruciatus Curse.

"They have been there ever since. I know that Neville and Augusta visit them regularly but it must be heartbreaking to see them knowing that they will never recover. I know this may sound terrible, but in some ways your parents are better off than they are."

"Well, it seems like we have our option. We will ask Death to direct the magic toward healing them," stated Harry happily.

Seconds later Death reappeared in the room, "Congratulations, you have chosen wisely. Mrs. Potter was correct in her conclusions. If you had chosen either of your original options, then you would have suffered the same fate as the previous Masters.

"Your selfless act has saved you and ended the curse of the Hallows. Your request will be granted and the Hallows will cease to exist," explained Death.

With a wave of his hand, the Hallows glowed brightly before burning up and falling to the ground as ash. When the flames died away, Albus, Harry and Ginny were alone in the Potions lab once more.

Seconds later Fawkes, Xavier, two other Phoenixes, Ranok, the Elite Guards and Ginny's parents arrived in the room.

Molly immediately pulled Harry and Ginny into a long hug while Arthur spoke with Albus. Ranok verified they were okay before dismissing the guards and returning to his office.

' _Harry, Ginny, it is my deepest honour to introduce you to King Archimedes, and his mate Queen Amelia,_ ' announced Fawkes humbly once they had all settled down.

Harry and Ginny bowed in honour before Archimedes and Amelia and waited to be addressed as was the Phoenix custom.

Archimedes acknowledged the bow and approached them before saying ' _We have much to discuss younglings._ '

"Before we proceed, shall we all adjourn to the sitting room?" suggested Ginny. They quickly made their way to the sitting room. On the way Harry asked Maxim to bring them some refreshments.

Once everyone had settled down, King Archimedes addressed Harry.

' _Congratulations, you have passed the ultimate test and freed our world of a power more terrifying than any of the Dark Lords has ever dreamed of._ '

' _What do you mean?_ ' asked Ginny with concern.

' _If the Hallows had been united by a Dark Witch or Wizard, they would have been unstoppable. Not even the Phoenixes would have survived. It was a closely guarded secret that the Elder Wand on its own had the power to kill a Phoenix. When united with the other Hallows, it could have destroyed the Phoenix Realm,_ ' answered Archimedes.

' _Why didn't the Phoenixes do anything about them?_ ' asked Harry.

' _We could not track them, Death placed charms on them more powerful than Phoenix magic, which made it impossible for us to find them. He also cursed them so that any Phoenix who attempted to destroy them if they were found, would have died,_ ' explained Archimedes.

' _You have shown once again that you are worthy of the positions that we have bestowed on you,_ ' continued Archimedes.

' _Does that mean we have passed the final test?_ ' asked Ginny curiously.

' _No, it appears that you haven't yet,_ ' replied Archimedes. ' _We are just as surprised as you are as we were certain when you met Death as you did that it would be enough to finally prove that you are truly worthy._ '

They continued to talk for several more hours before Archimedes and Amelia departed back to the Phoenix Realm.

* * *

Later that day Harry and Ginny were relaxing in their room, thinking about everything that had happened recently when Harry spoke to her through the bond.

' _Gin, how about we go explore the forest together?_ '

' _Sounds good. Let me just change. Then we can flash to the clearing we found last time and continue to explore from there,_ ' replied Ginny happily.

A few minutes later they both flashed to the clearing with a picnic basket that Maxim had provided for them.

"So what would you like to do?" asked Harry as they laid out the food on the blanket.

"I wanted to try out our Snake Animagus forms," replied Ginny.

"Sounds good to me," replied Harry as he focused on the memory of their forms. "Why don't you try first? If there are any issues, then I will help you revert back."

Ginny focused on the memory and slowly transformed into a five foot long Basilisk. She slowly moved around, getting used to being so close to the ground.

' _This is so weird! I can move so freely but cannot get used to being so close to the ground._ '

Harry quickly transformed as well and together they explored the forest around them in their Basilisk form.

' _I wonder if people will die if they look into our eyes?_ ' asked Ginny as they slithered towards a hole in the ground.

' _Hmm, I don't know. We will have to test that out on some Death Eaters at some point,_ ' replied Harry as he followed her into the hole.

' _What is this place?_ ' asked Ginny as they moved deeper into the hole into what appeared to be a large underground network of tunnels.

' _I don't know but it looks manmade, and very old._ '

They continued to explore the largest of the tunnels. As they moved further into the tunnel, Harry sensed something ahead of them.

' _There is something up there. We need to move cautiously,_ ' warned Harry.

' _I can sense it too._ '

They continued moving forward slowly, sensing that whatever it was didn't present a danger to them as long as they didn't startle it. The tunnel opened into a large cavern and it contained a large nest of Basilisks, one of which was extremely large.

" _ **Who are you?**_ " asked the large Basilisk.

" _ **I am Harry Potter, and this is my mate Ginny Potter.**_ "

" _ **Welcome to our lair. We have been expecting you for a very long time. I am Rynthian,**_ " announced the large Basilisk.

" _ **How did you know we would be coming?**_ " asked Ginny in surprise.

" _ **I have roamed this earth for longer than any other creature except the Phoenixes. Merlin told me before he left that you would need our help.**_ "

" _ **How long have you lived down here?**_ " asked Ginny.

" _ **Merlin created this cavern and the tunnels when wizardkind turned on us. Until that time we lived in peace with them,**_ " replied Rynthian.

" _ **What about people dying when you look at them?**_ " asked Harry, wondering how they could have lived in peace together.

" _ **It's like all magic. It only happens if you want it to. Most of us have only ever killed in self defence. Contrary to popular belief we are not mindless killers, although a few have fallen into that path, just as some wizards have turned dark.**_

" _ **I am well aware that you faced Ursula two years ago and were able to defeat her. Please don't be worried. She was responsible for more crimes than any other Basilisk.**_

" _ **During the time of Merlin we united with Goblins, Phoenixes, House Elves, Centaurs, Merpeople, and Giants. We look for those days to return. When the time comes you can count on us to stand at your side.**_ "

" _ **Thank you, Rynthian. The time is fast approaching. The Goblins and Phoenix have already united behind me. If you are willing to unite with us, a place will be opened to you on the Council of Magic. Two representatives for each magical race will have seats on the council as was the case in Merlin's time.**_ "

" _ **We accept your offer and will unite once again,**_ " replied Rynthian.

" _ **We will return soon. There is much we wish to learn from you,**_ " announced Harry before they both transformed to their Phoenix form and disappeared.

They flew above the forest for a few minutes before they were joined by Fawkes and Xavier.

' _Congratulations, Harry, the old allegiances are slowly being rebuilt,_ ' Fawkes said.

' _Thank you, Fawkes. When the time comes I want us all to be ready. When the other magical creatures see us working together, it should bring more of them out of hiding,_ ' replied Harry.

' _They will. You have united three of the oldest creatures already. The house elves are already loyal to you because of your treatment of them at Potter Castle. As are the merpeople after you spent time with them last summer. They will both join the council when invited but will not ask or talk about it until such time as you do,_ ' explained Fawkes.

' _Thank you for the advice. I will reach out to them soon,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Harry, it's getting late. We should head in as we have an early start in the morning,_ ' Ginny said before showing him what she had planned for the rest of the evening.

' _Coming, love,_ ' replied Harry as he flashed directly to their suite.

Several hours later, they finally fell into a deep restful sleep with satisfied smiles on their faces.

* * *

Harry had invited Bill and Fleur to breakfast the next morning, Harry wanted to discuss the progress in the investigation of Fudge and generally catch up with them now that Bill had finally asked Fleur to marry him.

"So you finally asked her?" Ginny asked as Maxim served them.

"Oui, he did," responded Fleur. "I think seeing you both in a coma caused us both to realize that you never know what will happen. If I knew it would not have upset my parents too much, I would have asked him myself."

"I can understand that. I had already told myself that if Harry hadn't noticed me, then I was going to ask him out myself," replied Ginny, causing Harry to groan and the others to chuckle.

"Have you decided on a date yet?" asked Harry.

"No, but we would like permission to marry here," replied Bill.

"Of course, it would be our honour," replied Harry happily. "I will need to meet with Fleur's parents and any other family who you want to stay here before the wedding. We can arrange security for everyone else, so they won't even know where the wedding is actually happening."

"Thank you," said Fleur before kissing Harry on both cheeks.

"Just let us know the date and when we can meet with the others. I am sure Molly will have a great time taking care of everything else," replied Harry before loading up another plate of food.

"Bill, how is the investigation going?"

"Good. So far, we have more than enough evidence against Fudge to put him away for a very long time. However he has so corrupted the laws that he will be able to throw out all the charges," explained Bill.

"That is why we need to proceed as we have planned. We are almost certain that he will challenge my claim when it is made, which will be enough. The duel will take care of that. Now we will just have to make sure that Umbridge is dealt with too. Then we can move forward."

"We have plenty of evidence against her too, including everything that has been happening at Hogwarts this year," Bill told him.

"Excellent, I am certain that he will attempt to pull a stunt when challenging me and I will have to wait to see what he does. I doubt he will be stupid enough to involve more Death Eaters, but just in case we will take care of those we know of in the Wizengamot before proceeding."

They continued to enjoy their breakfast together; Fleur and Ginny spent most of the time talking about the wedding and what Fleur wanted. Harry could see a hint of sadness in Ginny's reaction, knowing full well that she had been dreaming about her perfect wedding for many years before they bonded.

* * *

Healer Joanne Gray had just received an update on the patients in the long term ward and was preparing to make her rounds. She really didn't understand why they had to do the handover every shift as nothing ever changed with these patients, but process had to be followed.

"See you tomorrow," Joanne told her friend Healer Rebecca Conway who had just finished her shift.

"Yep, same time as always," replied Rebecca before entering the lift.

Joanne picked up her notepad and made her usual rounds at the start of the shift; she checked each of the patients before settling down to read another novel.

"Morning, Mr. Lockhart," she called as she walked past his bed. She avoided getting close to his bed ever since the incident the previous year where he had tried to grope her.

"Morning, beautiful," replied Lockhart. "Why don't you come here and I will tell you about my adventures?"

"Sorry, I can't today, maybe tomorrow," she replied automatically. He would not remember the conversation the next morning and would try again.

As she moved around the ward, she greeted the patients just the same as always. It was sad to see them like this, but there was nothing that could be done for them.

"Morning, Mrs. Longbottom," Joanne said as always as she approached the bed.

"Morning, where am I?" she asked.

"In St. Mungo's," replied Joanne, slightly confused as she normally didn't ask any questions.

"Why?"

"You were attacked by Death Eaters," replied Joanne.

"How long have I been here?"

"Thirteen years," replied Joanne, completely baffled at what was happening.

"Where are Frank and Neville?"

"Frank is in the bed next to you. Neville is at school. What do you remember?"

"I remember hearing that the Potters had been killed. Then seeing the Death Eaters break in," replied Alice as she looked over to her sleeping husband.

"I will be right back," Joanne told her before rushing out of the ward to get some assistance.

"Alice, what is happening?" said Frank as he slowly woke up.

"We are in St. Mungo's. The Healer told me that we had been attacked thirteen years ago. Before I could find out more, she rushed out of the room," replied Alice, who was too weak to move toward him.

"Is Neville okay?"

"She told me he was at school so I believe so," replied Alice happily.

Several minutes later, a number of people entered the room following a very excited and animated Joanne.

"I don't know what to tell you. I was doing my normal rounds when Mrs. Longbottom started asking questions," Joanne explained as they approached the beds.

"Ah I see that Mr. Longbottom has woken up too. How are you today?" Joanne asked, expecting the normal response.

"I am very confused but apparently well," replied Frank, causing Joanne to drop her notepad.

"Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, I am Senior Healer Francis Johnson. It appears we have had quite a miracle today."

"Could someone please explain what is going on?" asked Frank kindly.

"Mr. Longbottom, thirteen years ago you were attacked by several Death Eaters who tortured you for so long that you were left in a vegetative state. You have been here since then without any hope of being cured.

"Or should I say we thought there was no hope of a cure. However it seems we were wrong. We will need to perform some tests on you to determine if this is a temporary thing or you have been fully healed. You will need time to get strength back in your bodies before you can move around, but we will make sure you get the best treatment to help you," explained Healer Johnson.

"Can we see Neville?" asked Frank.

"I will make sure a message is sent to him immediately. However I think we should complete the tests before saying too much just in case," advised Johnson.

They both nodded before lying back down. The short interaction had been very draining on them after not moving for so long. Joanne and the others started performing a series of tests and were stunned to see that all of the damage that had been clearly evident in their minds after the attacks was gone. In addition, they were physically stronger than they should have been after such a long time in the beds.

"Healer Gray, please send a message to Mrs. Augusta Longbottom and to Mr. Neville Longbottom via Hogwarts requesting that they attend the ward at their earliest opportunity," Johnson said before leaving the room.

"Right away," replied Joanne before leaving also.

Before leaving, the other Healers had moved the two beds together so that they could at least hold hands as their bodies continue to heal and get stronger.

In the corner of the room, two Phoenixes watched with happiness as the couple talked. Their request had been granted and the results were better than they even expected.

' _Let's return to Potter Castle,_ ' suggested Harry once they knew everything was going to be okay.

' _Okay, I know we shouldn't intrude on their reunion but it would be cool to see Neville's reaction,_ ' replied Ginny as they both flashed out of the room.

' _I am sure we will find out one day._ '

They both flew high above Potter Castle enjoying their freedom for a while, knowing what was to come and the challenges they would face. Xavier and Fawkes soon joined them and once again Albus watched on as the four Phoenix wove a beautiful dance across the sky for several hours.

* * *

Augusta Longbottom had visited Frank and Alice every week since the attack that left them in St. Mungo's. During that time she had never received a call from the Hospital requesting that she come urgently, so she feared the worse as she entered the familiar corridor leading to their ward.

"Good morning," Augusta said as she approached Joanne, who was waiting at the main entrance to the ward.

"Good morning, Mrs. Longbottom. Thank you for coming on such short notice," replied Joanne politely.

"Can you tell me what's wrong? I have never been called before and can only assume that it means something terrible has happened."

"We are sorry to have worried you, Mrs. Longbottom. We were rather surprised by what happened this morning. We didn't think to advise you since it was a good reason why you were summoned," replied Joanne, feeling embarrassed.

"What do you mean?" asked Augusta at the comment.

"It seems that somehow this morning both Frank and Alice woke up and their minds were completely healed. They are asleep at the moment from exhaustion, but from all the tests we have done we cannot find any trace of the memory problems they had after the attacks," explained Joanne.

"How can that be? The healers have told us for years that there was no hope for a cure."

"That's what we would like to know too. They have not been able to give us any ideas as to what happened. The last memory they have is of the attack. They don't remember anything that happened since."

"Can I see them?"

"Yes, they are both sleeping but will need another nourishment potion soon, so we need to wake them," explained Joanne.

Augusta walked into the room and could see immediately that even when asleep they seemed different. Over the years she had been used to seeing Alice moving in her sleep as though she was trying to find something. Now she was lying still except for the movement in her eyelids indicating that she was dreaming.

Twenty minutes later, Joanne returned and woke Frank up for his potions.

"Mum?" Frank said as he looked around.

"Is it really you?" asked Augusta, still not really believing it was happening.

"Yes, Mum, it's me," replied Frank as tears flowed down his face.

"Oh when they told me I didn't dare hope that it was true," she told him as she pulled him into a hug, sobbing the whole time.

"We don't understand either. It was quite a shock to find out we had been here for more than ten years. The healer told us that as far as they could tell we were both in full health now and could go home soon."

A few moments later Alice was woken too and Augusta embraced her as well.

Joanne allowed them to remain awake as long as they could so they could catch up with Augusta. She filled them in on what had happened since they had been in St. Mungo's and how Neville was doing.

"This summer everything changed. Harry Potter and his girlfriend Ginny Weasley invited Neville and several others to stay with them. They have been training and working together and Neville has changed so much. It is amazing to see him now. He is grown much more confident and is a powerful wizard. You would both be proud of him," explained Augusta.

"Who has been training them?" asked Alice.

"Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and Albus Dumbledore among others," replied Augusta.

"Why would they allow that traitor to teach?" asked Frank in anger.

"Sirius wasn't the secret keeper. It was Peter Pettigrew," explained Augusta.

"But what about all the Muggles he killed?"

"That was Peter too. While he was trying to escape from Sirius, he blew up the road, then cut his finger off and transformed disappearing into the sewer system. Once they captured Peter, they got the truth from him and Sirius was freed from Azkaban," replied Augusta.

"Well it seems that we need to see Mr. Potter soon and thank him for helping Neville," announced Frank as he started to tire.

"I am sure Harry and Ginny would be happy to meet with you," replied Augusta. "I will send a message to them once you are able to return home.

They continued to talk until both fell asleep again. Augusta had been advised that Neville was expected later that day so decided to wait so she could be there when he found out the news.

* * *

Harry and Ginny were waiting in Harry's office at Potter Castle when Albus arrived for their meeting.

"Thank you for coming," Harry said, offering Albus a seat.

"While we were away, we had a chance to talk to Severus. One of the things that he told us about was his will. He hid it in his office, but because he wasn't sure who he could really trust, he didn't tell anyone and didn't want to burden you," explained Harry.

"We have searched his office several times and didn't find anything," replied Albus.

"Severus explained that he hid the door using Blood Magic."

"But that should have failed when he died," offered Albus.

"It would have done if he had not keyed it to a vial of blood that was also hidden in his office," replied Harry.

"But that is Dark Magic. He promised that he wouldn't do it once he crossed back over," Albus said sadly.

"That was why he didn't tell you. He knew you would be disappointed in him," explained Harry.

"Well he was partially right; I would have been disappointed but would have understood why he did it."

"He also told us there are several items hidden in the room that would be useful in the war. He refused to say what but told us we would understand when we found them," added Harry.

"Severus was a complicated man; he did more for this war effort except for the three of us. He made some terrible choices but continually showed his remorse by trying to correct those mistakes. I am sure that whatever he has hidden will give us some useful clues to what Tom is doing or has tried to do," replied Albus with a tear in his eye.

"Severus was happy when we saw him; he had finally made peace with those who had been affected by his actions. Although I believe he got quite an earful from my mum," replied Harry with a smile.

"I am sure he did. Lily was not someone you messed with if you wanted a peaceful life, a trait that I believe your beautiful wife has too."

Harry wisely kept quiet at that comment.

* * *

Minerva was still in her office when an owl arrived from St. Mungo's.

 _Professor McGonagall,_

 _Earlier this morning the status of Mr. Neville Longbottom's parents changed and we require his presence at the Hospital. Please could you arrange for an escort to bring him at the earliest opportunity?_

 _Joanne Gray Healer St. Mungo's Long Term Care Ward_

Minerva read the letter a couple of times before it sank in. The only conclusion she could come to was that one or both of them had died, but it seemed strange that both would go at the same time. She had not heard of any attacks on the Hospital since the one when Severus died and knew that Albus would have told her immediately.

With a heavy heart and deepening sadness, Minerva made her way to the DADA classroom where she knew Neville had his next class.

She knocked on the door and made her way into the classroom and quietly asked to speak to Neville.

"Mr. Longbottom, please could you come with me? I have some news to share with you," Minerva told him quietly before leaving the classroom again.

They made their way back to Minerva's office with Neville trying to work out what could have happened. He hadn't done anything to get into trouble for. Then he thought that something had happened to his Gran. Before he realized where he was, Minerva offered him a seat.

"Sorry to drag you out of class. I received a message this morning from St. Mungo's requesting that you be escorted to see your parents," explained Minerva.

"What happened?"

"I don't have any further information," replied Minerva, "but I have not heard of any attacks. I have already explained to your other Professors that you need to be out for the rest of the day."

"Thank you, Professor," replied Neville, looking very concerned for his parents.

"We can leave from here," Minerva told him before walking towards the Floo and grabbing a handful of powder. "St. Mungo's Long Care Ward," she said before stepping aside so Neville could step in. She followed a few moments later.

Once they had both arrived, they made their way down the corridor toward the main ward. When they walked in, they found Augusta sitting between the two beds with a broad smile on her face.

"Gran, what happened?" asked Neville as he rushed over to see them.

"Oh, Neville they woke up this morning and appear to be fully healed," she told him before grabbing him into a long comforting hug.

"How?"

"They don't know, Neville. I spoke with both of them earlier and they are both looking forward to seeing you again."

Minerva and Augusta both noticed the look of worry on Neville's face at that comment.

"You don't have to worry, Neville. I am sure they will both be very proud of you," Minerva said kindly.

"I am sure we will be," added Frank from his bed as he heard the end of the conversation.

Neville looked around cautiously. He had been visiting his parents for many years but had never spoken to them and wasn't sure what to say.

"Dad, is it really you?" Neville asked cautiously, not bothering to wipe the tears away that flowed down his face.

"Yes, Neville we don't know what happened but whatever it was has cured us," replied Frank as he looked at his son for the first time in many years. Although in his mind it wasn't that long ago.

Neville slowly approached the bed before being pulled into a long hug, experiencing something he never expected to be able to in his lifetime.

"I can't believe it's really you. I hoped for so long and nothing seemed to be working," choked Neville as he continued to hug him.

It wasn't long before Alice woke up. She joined Frank and Neville on his bed and they shared a family hug for the first time. Neville couldn't hold back the emotions that had been locked away for many years and openly sobbed as he finally held his parents close to him, knowing that they were returning the hug for the first time.

Knowing that they were going to be okay, Augusta and Minerva left the room to give them some space. They were surprised to see Albus standing outside the door.

"How are they?"

"How did you know? We haven't told anyone," asked Augusta, wondering who had spoken to Albus.

"It's a long story. Needless to say Harry, Ginny and I had to make a decision and after careful consideration decided that Frank and Alice should benefit. We will be happy to discuss it with you once they are home. Now my dear, I believe we need to leave them alone and return to work," replied Albus smiling happily as he saw the family sitting together talking.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

The next morning Hedwig arrived with the latest copy of the Daily Prophet.

 _ **Gringotts Reopens door; strict security measures added**_

 _ **by Robert Jones**_

 _ **Gringotts announced this morning that they were reopening the bank for Wizarding Britain, following an agreement between the Goblin nation and an unknown source. When asked to identify the source, the Goblins refused to answer stating that when the time comes the source would be revealed.**_

 _ **Gringotts announced several new security measures that had been added to the bank since they closed. They also refused to reveal what these measures were. However, they did make it clear that they would not be treated like second class citizens any longer and anyone wishing to access their accounts must submit to their rules.**_

 _ **I was given full access to my vault this morning following the reopening and have agreed not to reveal the measures that were introduced when I entered the bank. Rest assured that nothing has been taken from the vaults, despite the rumours that had been spread by certain elements in the Ministry.**_

"Well done Harry. This will go a long way to convincing people that the Goblins can be trusted. The fact that they have opened despite what happened is testament to your handling of the situation," Albus said.

Bill arrived a few minutes later with a letter from Ranok.

 _Harry,_

 _As you may have seen already, we have reopened the bank following the agreement established with yourself. We have introduced a number of new security measures, which will ensure that those who wish us harm or any of our allies will not be able to access their accounts._

 _We do have one remaining issue that needs to be discussed. Recently it has come to our attention that a very Dark Object resides in one of our older vaults. We have determined that the vault belongs to the Lestrange family. From our tests of the object, it would seem that there is something embedded in it, but we are not certain. We would like your opinion on what should be done with the object._

 _Please can you visit at your earliest opportunity?_

 _Ranok_

"Albus, it seems our friends may have found another of Tom's Horcruxes," Harry explained as he summoned Gryffindor's sword.

"Albus, Ginny, we need to visit the bank immediately to determine if it really is and take care of it," announced Harry.

' _Xavier, please inform Ranok that we will be there soon,_ ' Harry asked.

Harry, Ginny and Albus arrived in Ranok's office a few minutes later.

"Good morning, Ranok," Harry said as they settled down into the seats offered.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. When we discovered the object during an audit of the vaults, we knew it was something that you would want to investigate," replied Ranok.

"Yes, from your description it sounds like something we need to deal with. We would like to examine the object and then decide what needs to be done."

"We have moved it to a conference room," Ranok stated as he showed them out of the door.

"Don't worry, no one touched it," added Ranok when he saw the worried expressions.

They quickly arrived in the room to see a beautiful cup sitting on the desk.

"That is Helga Hufflepuff's cup," explained Albus as they approached it.

Harry and Ginny started examining it with their Phoenix Magic. Even though they had not found a way of tracing the Soul segments, they had found something that they believed would link the segments. Unfortunately they had not been able to test the theory until now and also didn't know if the segment had to be freed from the object before they would be able to detect it.

Albus explained to Ranok what was happening while Harry and Ginny continued to examine the cup.

"It's definitely another Horcrux," explained Harry when they finally finished. "The cup I believe is Goblin made and unless it is complete unavoidable, I don't think we should destroy it. Let's transport the cup back to Potter Castle and then remove the soul segment."

"Ranok, we will return the cup soon so that it can be placed back in the vault. Please let us know if any of the Lestranges attempt to access it before we return. I doubt they will as they are all on the run, but we don't know for certain."

"You don't need to worry about that, Harry. They are known Death Eaters and are now in violation of our vault policies by having this evil within our walls. Effective immediately, this vault is now under Goblin control and will be distributed as we see fit."

"Because you are removing the item, half the vault's contents will be transferred to you. The rest will be used at our discretion," explained Ranok.

"I don't want or need the money Ranok. Please place the funds in the trust fund that was established on September 1st," replied Harry.

"It will be done as you request. We thank you once again for coming so quickly and dealing with this," replied Ranok before leaving them in the conference room.

Harry conjured a container to transport the cup. Once it was safely lowered into the container, Harry placed several charms on it to stop it from moving and then sealed it airtight.

"We will store this at Potter Castle and deal with it later. Xavier, Fawkes please use whatever resources you can to examine this further and determine if there is any possible way to use it before we destroy the segment," Harry said.

Moments later they all disappeared to Potter Castle and arrived in a room that the castle has provided. It was deep underground and had no physical entrances.

"The Horcrux and any others we find will be stored here. The only way to access this room is with the help of a Phoenix. No one else is to be told about this room," explained Harry.

Harry then placed wards around the room that would prevent any Portkey or Apparition attempts in or out of the room, just in case someone happened to find it or get into it. He also placed a number of alarm wards around the room that would alert him if anything happened in here while he wasn't present.

"Now we just have to find the last three and Tom will finally be mortal again," Harry said as they flashed out of the room to Harry's office.

"Yes, unfortunately we have no leads at the moment. With everything that is coming up, I don't believe we will have time to even start looking."

"I was thinking about that. We know that Tom is too weak from the previous attack to wake up at the moment. We just have to weaken him again when he does return so the Death Eaters will then need to find another Horcrux or Tom will panic that he was out for so long and will bring them closer to him," replied Harry.

"That is dangerous as he could discover that we have found some," stated Dumbledore as he thought about the options.

"The only one that he may question is the cup but the fact that the vault was confiscated may work in our favour as he won't have any way of accessing it. As for the ring, he will believe that the Death Eaters screwed up the ritual when he wakes up," Harry told them.

"Do you really think that Tom will wake up?" asked Albus a few minutes later.

"Yes, from what we learned of the rituals it contains a large dose of Strengthening potion so the body can absorb the soul segment successfully. Although the segment will not be present during the ritual, the amount of potion required will help him."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me that Professor McGonagall had returned?" asked a very angry Umbridge when Lissy appeared in her office.

"I was told not to," replied Lissy.

"What do you mean? I am the Headmistress of this school and therefore your master. Who told you that?"

"I cannot tell you," replied Lissy, looking worried as Umbridge was getting angry by the second.

"Crucio," shouted Umbridge, hitting Lissy. She continued to torture her for several minutes before stopping.

"Now that you understand what will happen. Answer my question! Who told you?"

"I cannot tell you. It is forbidden for us to tell you who the master is," replied Lissy.

"I AM THE HEADMISTRESS! I ORDER YOU TO TELL ME!" screamed Umbridge.

When Lissy didn't answer again, Umbridge hit her with another Cruciatus Curse this time for five straight minutes.

Lissy was barely able to move when the curse was lifted. She would rather die than betray the master so didn't care what was happening to her.

"NOW I ORDER YOU TO TELL ME WHO?" screamed Umbridge once again.

"I will not. You are not the rightful Headmistress or our Master. You cannot order me to do anything," replied Lissy angrily.

"Avada Kedavra," Umbridge said in a cold voice, killing Lissy instantly.

She stalked out of her office leaving Lissy on the ground. Xavier flashed into the room a second later and disappeared with the body so that Umbridge couldn't do anything else to her.

Meanwhile at Potter Castle an alarm had gone off. One of the enhancements Xavier and Fawkes had placed on the wards was to detect the use of the Killing Curse within the school. They had not been able to detect the other Unforgivables yet, but were working on it.

"What is that?" asked Albus as they entered Harry's office.

"It's the Killing Curse alarm at Hogwarts. Someone has just cast the Avada Kedavra within the school wards," replied Harry.

"Godric, can you please find out what is happening?" asked Harry just before Xavier arrived in the room.

' _What's going on?_ ' asked Harry as Xavier gently lowered the body down on the desk.

' _I found her in Umbridge's office just after the alarm went off,_ ' explained Xavier.

"Umbridge killed her. She must have been trying to find out why Lissy didn't report back," explained Harry.

"The other elves are not going to like this at all," replied Albus.

"Maxim," Harry called. The elf appeared a second later.

"Yes, Harry," Maxim said before spotting the body. "What happened?"

"She was killed by Umbridge," explained Harry. "We need to know what the proper process is for her funeral."

"We will take care of it, Harry," replied Maxim.

Maxim examined the body carefully as he prepared her for burial.

"Harry, it seems that Umbridge also tortured Lissy before she died," explained Maxim and he showed Harry the damage to her nerves.

"I will have to tell the other elves at Hogwarts. They may refuse to work while she is there," added Maxim.

"This is my fault, I told Lissy not to tell Umbridge when Minerva returned to the school," said Harry sadly.

"This is not your fault, Harry," said Albus, Maxim, Xavier and Ginny at the same time.

"But if I hadn't told her that, she would be alive now," replied Harry as he slumped into a depression.

' _Snap out of it right now,_ ' demanded Ginny. ' _Umbridge could have done this anyway even if you hadn't told Lissy to not report back._ '

Harry knew she was right but it wasn't helping. Ginny slowly approached him and took his hands in her own.

' _Look at me please. You need to remain strong Harry. There is a lot coming up; it could mean that some will fall because of it. Do you think that Lissy would want you to act like this? The fact that she was tortured tells me that she refused to say who told her not to report back. She was loyal to the end and died honourably. Now you need to honour her by making Umbridge pay._ '

' _Thank you, you are right._ '

"Maxim, please let me know what the other elves say when you talk to them. They are all welcome to join us here if they refuse to stay at Hogwarts," Harry said before disappearing from the room with Ginny.

* * *

Maxim returned from Hogwarts several hours later.

"I have spoken with the elves. They have decided to stay at Hogwarts because they don't want everyone else to suffer because of the actions of a few," Maxim explained.

"Thank you. Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Harry.

"No, but they did tell me they would not be serving Umbridge or any of the students who are linked to her or known Death Eaters."

"That is perfectly acceptable. Should be interesting to see their reaction when none of their clothes are cleaned and they don't get served at meal times," replied Harry with a laugh.

"Please tell them that if anyone attempts to attack them in future, they have my permission as Master to leave immediately. If they need a safe haven, they are welcome to Potter Castle at any time," Harry told Maxim.

"I will tell them."

* * *

"It's time to return," announced Harry, once they had finished breakfast.

"Do we have to?" replied Ginny sadly. She had been enjoying the freedom too much.

"Yes unfortunately, we need to set things into motion so that we can get it over with," replied Harry before kissing her soundly.

"Okay, let's get this over with," stated Ginny as they retrieved their things from the master suite.

They flashed directly to the Founders' Study to the cheers of their friends, who had just returned from eating breakfast.

"How are you doing?" asked Hermione after hugging each of them.

"We are well. Listen, we need to tell you what is about to happen. It is very important that you do not react or attempt to interfere," replied Harry, getting all their attention.

They proceeded to explain what would happen when they walked into the Great Hall at lunch time. They skipped the morning lessons explaining everything to the others and then hand in hand walked down to the Great Hall.

Almost as soon as they entered the Great Hall, Umbridge jumped out of her seat and approached them.

"Miss Weasley, you are under arrest," stated Umbridge loudly.

"On what charges?" responded Ginny.

"An unprovoked attack on me," replied Umbridge smugly.

"You know perfectly well that I didn't attack you. However I can see you have manipulated the law and will therefore come quietly," replied Ginny as she offered Umbridge her wand.

"Follow me," announced Umbridge.

"Sorry, Professor, but I will only leave when the Aurors and my parents get here," replied Ginny with a smirk at the angry expression.

"You will come with me now," replied Umbridge angrily before pointing her wand towards Ginny.

"Professor Umbridge, you do not have the authority to take Miss Weasley into custody. She is well within her rights to wait," announced McGonagall as she approached with her wand drawn.

Umbridge backed down, knowing she wasn't in a position to protest. If she did anything, they could potentially push for Ginny to be freed, which would anger Fudge immensely.

"Fine, send for the Aurors. In the meantime, everyone else return to their common rooms now," stated Umbridge angrily.

"That includes you Mr. Potter," she added, before realizing that he had already left.

The room quickly emptied, leaving McGonagall, Umbridge and Ginny waiting until the Aurors turned up.

"You think that you are so clever. Just wait until Mr. Potter sees you for what you really are," Umbridge whispered when McGonagall turned her back.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't hear what you said," replied Ginny loudly, causing McGonagall to spin around and give a deathly stare at Umbridge.

"I suggest that you move away from Miss Weasley," announced McGonagall as she took a seat next to her.

* * *

"Minister Fudge, we have just received word from Hogwarts. Miss Weasley has returned but refused to leave with Madam Umbridge. She has requested Auror assistance.

"Thank you Auror Harris. Please advise the others to be ready to leave in five minutes," replied Fudge before disappearing into his office.

Harris walked out of the room to find the others, who were loyal to Fudge so they could finally arrest the Weasley girl. They had all been promised some time with her as long as they didn't leave any physical marks and were looking forward to getting an opportunity.

"Bartholomew, Jones, where are you?" asked Harris as he walked into the Auror break room.

"What's going on?" replied Auror Jones from the large couch in the corner.

"The Weasley girl is waiting at Hogwarts. We are going to escort the Minister to arrest her," replied Harris with a smile. "Then when she is back here, we can finally have our fun."

The three of them quickly returned to the Minister's office and waited for him to return.

"Let's go. Remember we cannot afford any screw-ups this time. I am sure Potter will try something, so be ready," ordered Fudge as they left his office for the lifts.

"Yes, Minister," the three replied.

* * *

Harry was watching closely from the rafters of the Great Hall. He had flashed up there after finding an empty corridor. He knew Minerva would not allow anything to happen to Ginny but wasn't going to take any chances; he also wanted to see who would be sent to take Ginny into custody.

' _Xavier just told me they are on their way,_ ' Harry told Ginny unnecessarily as she had heard it too.

' _I know,_ ' she replied unhappily.

' _You can do this, Gin. I know you have the hard part but I am not going to let anything happen to you,_ ' Harry told her while comforting her with his love.

' _I am not worried about that. It is the thought that these men will be staring at me and thinking about what they would like to do to me that worries me,_ ' replied Ginny sadly.

' _We can't stop them thinking like that, but we just have to remember that they will never get to live out any of those thoughts.'_

' _And I am sure we could create some thoughts of our own to take your mind off that,_ ' added Harry while he showed her what he had planned for when she was released. Luckily, neither Umbridge or McGonagall saw the spectacular blush it caused.

Fudge marched through the doors of the Great Hall right up to where Ginny was sitting.

"Miss Weasley, you are under arrest," stated Fudge.

"On what charges?" replied Ginny.

"Attacking a Professor, spreading false rumours and attacking a fellow student," replied Fudge smugly.

"I assume you have proof of these charges?" asked an angry Molly Weasley, who happened to arrive seconds after Fudge.

"Mrs. Weasley, what are you doing here?" asked Fudge.

"As my daughter is underage, you cannot arrest her unless a parent is present. I will be escorting her to the holding cells."

"Sorry that isn't allowed. Miss Weasley must be escorted by the Aurors," replied Fudge uncomfortably.

"And why is that, Minister? Are you trying to hide something?"

"No, of course not. You are welcome to escort your daughter," replied Fudge, knowing that he would need to keep her away from the interrogation room, which was being tampered with as they spoke.

"That's what I thought. Let's get going so we can clear up this mess."

The six of them slowly walked out of the Great Hall, Fudge carrying Ginny's wand. As soon as they reached the main gate, Fudge activated the Portkey to the Ministry, leaving a very angry Molly Weasley standing there helpless.

Harry appeared right beside her and transformed into his Phoenix form after telling her to grab a tail feather. They flashed directly to the holding cells where Ginny was being manhandled by one of the Aurors.

As soon as Harry saw what was happening, he had to leave immediately. Otherwise he was very likely to do something that would cause them too many problems.

' _Gin, I am so sorry,_ ' Harry told her as he arrived back in the Founders' Study.

' _Don't worry. I suspected they would try these things. They are just as predictable as all the other idiots who work for Fudge and Tom,_ ' replied Ginny.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" screamed Molly, startling the Auror into dropping Ginny.

"How did you get here so quickly?" asked Fudge as he walked in behind Molly.

Molly turned on Fudge, "That doesn't matter. I want to know why this Auror was manhandling my daughter?"

"She was resisting arrest and the Auror was attempting to place her in the interrogation chair," replied Fudge.

"This is completely unacceptable," replied Molly angrily.

"Auror, please escort Mrs. Weasley out of here," ordered Fudge.

"You can't do that," replied Molly, who refused to move.

"According this Ministry Decree, I can," replied Fudge smugly after handing over the hastily created decree.

Molly looked at the decree and stormed out of the room angrily. "You haven't heard the end of this."

Fudge looked up once she was out of the room, smiling evilly.

"So Miss Weasley, you are all alone. No one available to protect you now," stated Fudge as he licked his lips. Ginny could sense the thoughts that were going through his weakly protected mind which sent shivers down her spine.

"My Aurors will be questioning you individually to determine if you are lying. Each session will be done using Veritaserum and recorded. Anything you say can and will be used against you during your trial unless you fully cooperate," Fudge announced before telling Harris to start.

Auror Harris escorted the Minister out before closing the door and sealing the room so no one could disturb them.

"So Miss Weasley we can do this the easy way or the hard way-it is up to you. Although I would prefer you to choose the hard way as it will be more fun for me."

Ginny refused to answer or even acknowledge that he was in the room and talking to her.

Harris walked up and slapped her across the cheek, leaving a nasty welt on her face.

"Now I have your attention. Answer the question," Harris said before he noticed the welt completely faded and didn't even leave a mark.

"Something wrong, Auror Harris?" asked Ginny at his shocked expression.

"Nothing," Harris replied before sitting down.

He administered the Veritaserum and proceeded to ask her a number of pointless questions that Ginny answered automatically, making them think she was under its influence.

An hour later Harris walked out of the room sheepishly, not wanting to admit that he had not been able to get any information out. He had tried several times to touch her again- only to be repulsed somehow each time as though he had been electrocuted. This was, of course, what had happened as an invisible Goblin guard has shot a spell at him each time.

* * *

Molly arrived back at Potter Castle and threw the decree down in front of Arthur and Albus before storming out to her room.

As soon as they saw the paper, they guessed what had happened. Arthur immediately went to find Molly while Albus summoned Fawkes so they could discuss it.

"Molly, please I know you are angry but I need to know what happened," Arthur asked as he stood outside the door to their suite.

"Nothing, that is exactly what happened, absolutely nothing. Fudge produced that stupid decree and forced me to leave. Now Ginny is all alone with those monsters and they could be doing who knows what to her," replied Molly before opening the door.

"Now Molly, we both know that Harry would never let anything happen to Ginny," replied Arthur as he hugged her.

"But she is all alone," replied Molly, still sobbing.

"She is never alone. With their bond, neither of them is alone, plus she has the Elite Guards in the room. They will not allow anything to happen. Within seconds of Ginny being stunned, Harry and the guards would be in the room. There would not even be time for them to lower their wands from the attack," Arthur told her quietly, trying to comfort her.

"Doesn't it worry you at all?" asked Molly angrily.

"Of course it worries me, but we have to remember that Ginny is married and chose to do this. She trusts Harry completely and so should we," replied Arthur, trying to hide his hurt.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," Molly said immediately, seeing just how hurt Arthur was. "I know you care deeply for all of us and are just as helpless in this situation. Please don't be angry with me."

"I know you didn't mean it, but you are right-it is very frustrating. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. It won't be long before we are freed from the tyranny of Fudge and Tom Riddle," replied Arthur before pulling Molly into a deep passionate kiss.

"I love you so much," Molly said a while later. Neither of them was seen for the rest of the day as they spent some time together, trying to forget what was happening with Ginny.

Meanwhile, in the sitting room, Albus was discussing what had happened with Harry, who had flashed in once Molly was forced to leave the holding cell.

"Harry, Ginny is strong. She will get through this and you know the Goblins will not allow any physical harm come to her. Even the Veritaserum will be ineffective because of your bond and unbreakable mind shields," Albus explained, trying to calm Harry down.

' _Please don't worry about me, Harry,_ ' added Ginny.

' _How can I not worry about you?, I love you so much._ '

' _I know you do, Harry and I love you very much too. Remember no matter what they think, they will never be able to fulfil any of those thoughts, so in the end we have nothing to worry about,_ ' replied Ginny.

' _I know, I'm sorry,_ ' replied Harry with a deep sigh; he knew it would be a long few days.

' _Don't ever be sorry for loving me so much., I feel the same way about you and if you remember was doing the same when you were in the same position._ '

* * *

So far all the wizards and witches who had entered Gringotts had been very happy with the new security processes. None of them had anything to hide, so once they had been through the additional checks, they were given access their vaults.

Most decided to take a little more than they needed just in case there were problems in the future.

Ranok was walking through the lobby to get update from Getfrock regarding the security checks at the front door.

As he approached, he could see a scuffle and knew that someone was not happy about the checks.

"Don't you know who I am?" shouted Lucius Malfoy.

"I don't care who you are. The same rules apply to everyone entering the bank," replied Getfrock.

"Listen here you filthy halfbreed. I will access my vault and nothing you do will stop me," demanded Lucius.

"Mr. Malfoy, if you are not willing to follow our processes, you will not be granted access to this bank," replied Getfrock as several Warriors approached them.

"Avada Kedavra," shouted Lucius, killing Getfrock instantly. He spun around and rushed out of the bank. Just before he was able to Apparate away. he was hit by a powerful cutting hex that severed his left arm. The Goblin who had struck him then incinerated the arm that was lying on the ground.

"Sorry, he got away," announced the Goblin. "However I did manage to severe his arm before he could Apparate."

"Well done. Please take Getfrock's body away for burial," Ranok announced before storming off to his office.

"Griphook, follow me," Ranok said as he walked to his office.

Griphook walked into the office quickly and quietly and waited until Ranok offered him a seat.

"It seems that we are going to have quite a profitable day today," Ranok stated. "Please seize the contents of the Malfoy vault and distribute them as follows: half the money is to go into the trust fund established by Harry Potter, fifty thousand galleons to Getfrock's family and the rest to be invested."

"I will do so immediately. Do you wish to send notification to the Malfoy family?"

"Yes, please notify them that their vault has been seized," replied Ranok with an evil grin knowing just how much it would anger them. He hoped that Malfoy would come and demand they return his money, at which time they would transport him to Azkaban. "Can you also notify Mr. Potter what happened and who was responsible for Getfrock's death?"

* * *

Harry made his way down to the lake for his meeting with Morander. He had not been back in the lake since the tournament and really wanted to go down with Ginny, but knew that wasn't possible at the moment.

Harry arrived at the lake and started to walk in transforming once he was underwater, much to the shock of several first years, who were swimming in the lake.

Harry swam down to the Mervillage and headed to the building where Morander had an office.

"Good afternoon, Morander. Thank you for seeing me."

"Good afternoon, Harry. It is always a pleasure to meet with you. We haven't seen you since the tournament, but know you have been very busy," replied Morander.

"Yes, but that is no excuse. I should have made time to see you. I am sorry that I didn't and will endeavour to do better in the future."

"You will always be welcome here. What brings you here today?"

Harry explained everything that had happened recently before making his announcement.

"I have resurrected the Council of Magic and have started uniting the various magical creatures again. The Goblins, Phoenixes and Basilisks have already joined and I would like to extend an offer to your people to join once again," explained Harry.

"It has been far too long since the council existed; it is encouraging to see that it is returning. The merpeople are honoured that you have reached out to us and offered us a place and promise to unite with you and the other magical races," Morander replied.

"Excellent, each race will have two representatives on the council. In time they will also have equal representation in the Wizengamot, which will no longer serve just human but all magical races. The council will have the final say on any new laws that are created; this will ensure that the biased laws that have been created recently can never happen again."

"How will we be able to attend those meetings?" asked Morander.

"We will find a way to include everyone without causing them discomfort. We hope to include the Giants in the future if they can forgive the crimes of the humans. They will not be able to attend the meetings if we use the current location either," explained Harry.

"Thank you, Harry. We look forward to serving and working with you, Heir of Merlin."

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon, exploring the Mervillage with Morander seeing some of the sites that he had not seen before.

"I will have to speak to Albus Dumbledore; I think tours of the Mervillage will really help students understand the Merpeople culture. That is definitely one area that needs improving. With more understanding, people are less likely to judge, based on the actions of a few."

"We would be happy to show the students our village and way of life. In return we would request a chance to observe the humans in their day to day lives too," replied Morander.

"Unfortunately nothing can happen until we have dealt with the current leadership. I just hope that they don't do too much more damage," explained Harry.

Morander nodded to show his understanding before leaving Harry near the shoreline.

"Thank you again, Harry. As we said, you are always welcome here."

* * *

Later that evening Ginny was fast asleep in Harry's arms when they heard a loud crash coming from outside the detention cells. It seemed that whoever was coming down had tripped on something. Harry suspected immediately that one of the Goblins had tripped them to give Harry plenty of warning that they were coming.

' _Gin, someone is coming down,_ ' Harry said as he tried to gently wake her.

' _What time is it?_ '

' _About one in the morning, I guess they are trying to wear you down by interrogating you as much as possible,_ ' replied Harry.

So far since arriving after lunch, she had been interrogated a number of times with hardly any rest between them. Not that it was really a problem as Xavier and Harry were strengthening her with Phoenix magic.

"Get up," demanded Bartholomew as he entered the cell.

Ginny slowly got out of the bed, not caring that it was angering Bartholomew.

"Get moving, you stupid bitch," Bartholomew said before taking a swing at Ginny. However his hand never reached her and seemed to stop against an invisible barrier.

"What the hell was that?"

"No idea," replied Ginny with a smile. "But I would be more careful with what you do with your hands. You may get injured."

"There is someone else in there with you. Once I find them, they will pay as will you!" stated Bartholomew as he started to throw curses around the room.

"Well if there is, you must have brought them in with you," Ginny stated as she moved towards the door causing him to stop. "I assume we are going back to the interrogation room for another round of pointless questioning?"

"Just get moving and keep that mouth of yours shut before I stuff something in it that will keep you quiet," Bartholomew stated angrily.

"I seriously doubt it would," replied Ginny quietly, almost causing Harry to choke violently and give away the fact that he was in the cell.

As with all the previous sessions, Bartholomew asked the same questions and got exactly the same answers. He tried several times to touch Ginny, but each time something stopped him. This caused much frustration, but he refused to say anything as anyone else would think he was crazy.

"One of these days you are going to screw up and we will take great pleasure in teaching you some manners," snapped Bartholomew in frustration, trying to get her to talk.

"Well I hope you live for a very long time then because I doubt it will happen in your lifetime," replied Ginny, causing even more frustration.

Bartholomew was sick of being mocked by Ginny and attempted to grab her from behind as she walked to the door. As with all his other attempts, it was blocked. However this time Harry showed himself. Before he could react, Harry Stunned him.

"Sorry, I wasn't going to let him continue to do that," Harry said after Ginny hugged him.

"It's not your fault. He was getting a little too close for my liking anyway," replied Ginny as she murmured "Obliviate" toward him.

' _Xavier, we need you to transport Bartholomew away from here so when he wakes up, he will not wonder why he was in the room alone,_ ' Ginny stated

Xavier flashed into the room and removed Bartholomew. Harry then retrieved the recording crystal so there would no evidence of anything happening and they both returned to Ginny's cell to await the next idiot who came down.

' _I wouldn't mind so much if they asked different questions. It would at least be entertaining trying to think of new answers,_ ' moaned Ginny as Harry kissed her.

' _Enough talking,_ ' stated Harry as he gently started caressing her breasts.

' _Yes Sir,_ ' replied Ginny before kissing him deeply.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five**

Harry was beginning to regret having to put Ginny in this position. Thankfully nothing had happened so far except for the same stupid questions and the illegal use of Veritaserum, which of course was added to the list of crimes.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Cho and several of her friends surround him as he walked towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

Without any warning, Cho grabbed Harry into a searing kiss, making sure one of her friends had a camera ready. No sooner had Cho's lips touched Harry than a magical burst blasted her across the corridor right into the arms of Umbridge knocking them both out.

"Give me that camera right now," demanded Harry as her friends attempted to escape.

"Sorry, Harry. That is private property and you have no right to take it," the friend with the camera replied smugly, placing it in her book bag.

"Maybe not. However I can do this," Harry told her as he waved his wand in a complicated pattern towards her bag. Seconds later, a wave of magic erupted from Harry's wand and struck the bag.

"What did you do?" she asked in a panic, while checking her bag.

"Just wiped the memory card," replied Harry with an evil smile.

"But that had all my pictures from this year on it," she replied sadly.

"Well next time you should consider giving me the camera when I ask for it, so I could ensure you deleted the pictures in question. If I were you, I would stop hanging around Cho. She will cost you more than you could ever imagine."

Cho was the first to wake up and looked around, wondering where she was.

"Hello, Cho," said Harry in a flat tone. "I guess you still don't understand, so let me make this very clear to you. I am very much in love with Ginny and there is nothing you can do or say to ever stop me loving her. Your futile attempts have landed her in jail and you think that I would allow you near me after doing that?

"This is your final warning, if you so much as look at me the wrong way, we will make sure you regret it for a very long time. Just be thankful that Ginny isn't here because she would have been a lot less forgiving than I am.

"And don't bother asking your friends for the evidence. I have already taken care of that."

"I will beat her in the end. Then you will realize just how much you need me," stated Cho before attempting to kiss him again.

Suddenly a flash of light filled the corridor. When it faded, Cho was grabbing at her nose, which was now being attacked by very large bats.

' _Thank you, love._ '

' _You're welcome, Harry. Sorry I can't do anything about the nasty taste in your mouth,_ ' replied Ginny as she settled back into her cell.

' _Oh I am sure you could help me with that later,_ ' Harry said teasingly.

' _I most certainly will not help you. You will have to take care of it yourself._ '

' _Oh that's nice. I'll remember that next time you need something taken care of like that,_ ' replied Harry with a smirk.

' _Hey, I'm not the one who let a dirty trollop kiss me._ '

' _Trollop?_ '

' _Yep, that's what I said, mister._ '

Harry noticed that Umbridge was starting to wake up and didn't want to deal with her, so he disappeared before she could say anything.

"Miss Chang, what is the meaning of this?" asked Umbridge angrily.

"Harry Potter threw me into you," replied Cho smugly before realizing he was gone.

"I don't see Mr. Potter around anywhere. Report to my office immediately. I will be there soon."

"Yes, Headmistress," replied Cho in a resigned voice before walking away slowly.

* * *

Ginny was getting very frustrated with the treatment she had received since arriving at the Ministry holding cells. It seemed that the Minister had deliberately selected the Aurors guarding her because they were loyal to him and she suspected most of them were Death Eaters.

She wasn't worried about what would happen as she knew the Elite Goblin Warriors were watching over her and that Harry or Xavier would be there in seconds if she needed them. The fact that Harry was spending each night with her in the cell was also comforting, even if he was invisible the whole time as they never knew when the guards would come to interrogate her next.

As they sensed someone approaching the cell, Harry disappeared silently.

"Get up, bitch," shouted the guard as he dragged her out of bed.

She was dumped unceremoniously into the interrogation room. The guard then administered Veritaserum before leaving again.

"What is your name?" asked a voice Ginny didn't recognize.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley," she replied automatically.

"What is your relationship with Harry Potter?"

"We are friends."

"Where is Albus Dumbledore?"

"I don't know."

He continued to bombard her with questions for another twenty minutes and each time would get a short direct answer that didn't reveal anything useful.

"This is a waste of time. Either she is immune to the Veritaserum or our source is lying about her," said the voice.

"Well then I think it is time we tried a different approach," said another voice.

"Imperio," shouted the other person.

Ginny felt the curse strike her, knowing that it wouldn't have any effect, but she wasn't about to give away that little secret. She was also grateful that they had asked the Goblin guards to not interfere unless Ginny was knocked unconscious. They had all been told that she was immune to both Veritaserum and the Imperius Curse.

"Now I think it is time we had some fun with our little prisoner. By the time we have finished with her, Potter won't want to even touch her," said the first voice with a haunting laugh.

"Strip," the second voice commanded.

Ginny immediately stood up and turned towards the voices. She slowly moved her hand to her blouse top. As she continued to slowly undo the top button, both men, thinking that she was under their control, stepped forward to get a better view.

Although Ginny had never seen the Lestrange brothers before, she had seen pictures of them and knew immediately that they were the ones interrogating her this time.

' _It seems our dear Minister is getting desperate,_ ' Harry said over the bond as he watched.

' _It would appear so,_ ' replied Ginny calmly, knowing what was about to happen.

"Hmm, I can see why Potter would be interested in her. I bet she is good in bed," said Rabastan.

"I would agree. Although if she doesn't speed things up, I may just help her along," replied Rodolphus as he pointed his wand at her menacingly.

"Well, that is something you are never going to find out," announced Harry as he arrived directly between Ginny and the Lestrange brothers.

"How did you do that? This room is protected against Apparition and Portkeys!" asked Rabastan in confusion.

Harry didn't respond to the question, instead just stood there staring at them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" said Rodolphus happily. "I do believe that Miss Weasley's knight in shining armor has arrived. I guess he will just have to watch as we show Miss Weasley what she is really useful for," Rodolphus mocked before throwing a Stunner towards Harry, which he easily deflected with his hand.

"How did he do that?" said Rabastan suddenly, not looking as confident as before.

"Do you know how to say anything else?" mocked Harry in reply.

They both threw powerful Stunners at him only to see them absorbed by a shield. No matter what they threw toward Harry, nothing could get through and do any damage.

"How is this possible? Not even the Dark Lord can stop the Unforgivables," stated Rodolphus in amazement.

"It's called magic," mocked Harry as the brothers continued to batter the shield, neither of them realizing that each curse was strengthening it.

The brothers were starting to get tired. They had thrown everything they had at Harry, but nothing was working. Dropping down behind a table so they could regain some strength, they looked around and could see that the only door was behind where Harry was standing. With Harry's shield covering most of the room, there was no way to get to it.

Realizing that they would have to battle their way out of the room, both brothers immediately launched a volley of their most powerful curses towards Harry and Ginny. As with all the other curses. they were absorbed by the shield, causing it to become so bright that the brothers couldn't look towards it.

"We are trapped. We cannot get past the shield," announced Rabastan stupidly.

The brothers dropped down again behind the table again, trying to find any way of getting out of the room.

"Finally some Death Eaters with talent," mocked Harry. "Although hiding behind a table is hardly something that Voldemort would be happy about."

"Shut up! You are not worthy to speak his name," snapped Rodolphus.

"Why? At least both my parents were wizards," replied Harry as he blasted one side of the table to pieces.

"What the hell has that got to do with anything?" asked Rabastan suddenly confused.

"Surely you know the heritage of the man you call Lord Voldemort?" asked Harry as he dodged another volley from Rodolphus.

"Our Lord is the greatest Wizard ever," replied Rabastan.

"Your Lord is a half-blood mongrel, born to a squib, who had to use a love potion to even get the man she loved to sleep with her. Your Lord was so ashamed of his Muggle father's name, which he shared by the way, that he changed it to Lord Voldemort. He was so powerful that he was killed by a one year old. Then when he returned, he lost both his arms to a fourteen year old. Hardly what I would call a powerful Wizard," mocked Harry, knowing it would enrage the brothers.

As expected, both of them sprang out of their hiding place only to meet a volley of powerful Stunners from Harry and Ginny, ending the duel instantly.

As soon as both brothers were knocked out, Harry quickly bound them tightly to ensure they couldn't try to escape. He also grabbed their wands and snapped them.

"Well, it seems you aren't the men to show me a good time," mocked Ginny once Harry had woken them up.

She slowly walked up to each of them and kicked them very hard in the groin. No one heard their screams as she continued to kick them. By the time Ginny had finished with them, they were sobbing. The only evidence of what had happened was from the recording device in the room that had captured every little detail.

"Guards, please can you transport these insects to Azkaban? I believe Ranok has a special cell set up for them," Harry asked.

Seconds later, the two brothers were gone, never to be heard from again as they both had killed a significant number of Goblins in the past.

Ginny waved her hand, causing the room to seal shut and all monitoring devices to deactivate. Once the recording crystal was removed, there was no evidence that anyone had been in the room. Harry immediately sent Xavier back to Potter Castle with the crystal to give to Bill.

"Now, where was I?" said Ginny as she pretended to think for a second. "Oh that's right," she said as she slowly started to undo the buttons on her blouse, much to Harry's delight.

' _Well they did tell me to strip,_ ' Ginny said.

' _Yes, and we wouldn't want to disobey our betters, would we?_ ' replied Harry, never moving his eyes away from Ginny's hands as they slowly undid each button.

Harry moved forward and gently took Ginny's left hand into his own. He started kissing her slowly as he moved up her arm to her neck.

' _Hmm, have I told you lately just how beautiful you are?_ ' asked Harry as he nibbled on her ear.

' _I don't believe you have, Mr. Potter, but if this is any indication, I would say you are being honest with me,_ ' she replied as she grabbed his growing erection.

' _I don't know what you mean, Mrs. Potter,_ ' replied Harry, who sounded out of breath even through the bond as she gently rubbed him.

' _Well, Mr. Potter, if you don't know what I mean, I guess I will just have to return to my cell,_ " said Ginny as she started to pull away.

Harry quickly demonstrated that he fully understood what Ginny was implying and a very happy Ginny returned to her cell an hour later.

"Where the hell are they?" asked Fudge as he paced in his office.

"I left them alone in the interrogation room as requested," replied the Auror for the fifth time.

"They have had long enough. Bring them back here and make sure there is no evidence of what they did to the Weasley bitch," ordered Fudge before disappearing into his Floo.

The Auror made his way down to the interrogation room, wondering what he would find. He feared that it would not be good for the Weasley girl, especially knowing the reputation of the Lestrange brothers.

When he got to the room, the Auror was surprised to find it completely empty. He checked the recording crystal and found it missing. He wasn't sure how the Minister was going to react to this as he had made it very clear that Weasley wasn't to be killed.

The Auror made his way to Ginny's cell with the intention of cleaning up her stuff when he was surprised to see her sitting up reading a book.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked.

"Reading. What does it look like I am doing?" replied Ginny before returning to her book.

"But you were taken to the interrogation room," replied the Auror, who started looking around to find out what was happening.

"I have been in here all night. I don't know what you are talking about," lied Ginny easily.

"Don't lie. I took you there myself and administered the Veritaserum, leaving you with the Lestrange brothers," replied the Auror.

"Thank you, Mr. Harris. You are under arrest for illegally administering Veritaserum to an underage witch without her parent's consent and for leaving the same underage witch in a room with known Death Eaters without any protection," announced Amelia Bones as she stepped out of the shadows with Kingsley.

"The Minister ordered me to do it," replied Harris.

"And if he ordered you to put your own daughter in that room with them, would you?" asked Amelia in disgust.

"No," Harris replied quietly, realizing just how stupid he had been.

"I thought not. There is no excuse for what you have done. The Goblin guards will escort you to Azkaban. Just be grateful that nothing happened to Miss Weasley as they would have been very upset," Amelia told him before two Goblins appeared and took him away without any protest.

Amelia and Kingsley quietly disappeared in the same direction from which they came when they heard another guard coming.

"Harris, where the hell are you?" Auror Jones shouted. "Minister Fudge is livid that you haven't returned and wants to know what is happening with the prisoner."

He looked around for a while, but wasn't able to see anything except that the prisoner was in her cell.

Jones reluctantly walked back to the Minister's office. "Sorry, Minister, it appears that Auror Harris and the others have disappeared."

"What about the Weasley bitch?" asked Fudge angrily.

"She was in her cell reading," replied Jones.

"What do you mean she was in her cell reading? She was supposed to be in the interrogation room!"

"I checked in there, Minister. It hasn't been used since yesterday afternoon."

"Follow me. We will get to the bottom of this," ordered Fudge as he marched out of his office.

* * *

The D.A. meeting was in full swing when a loud explosion was heard from outside.

"Everyone, stay calm," ordered Sirius immediately.

A second explosion rocked the outside wall of the room, causing several mirrors to smash.

Harry immediately disappeared to find out what was happening, returning seconds later.

"Umbridge is outside with several Slytherin students and Cho Chang," announced Harry.

"Okay, everyone, we need to get out of here quickly," announced Sirius as the students made their way to their normal exit points.

Blaise slowly opened the door to find a trap had been set on the stairs. He immediately turned round. "We can't get out through here."

They found the same trap near the Ravenclaw door. "Someone must be working with them from Ravenclaw too. We will need to get the students out through the other doors without raising any suspicions."

Before they could finish getting the students out, another explosion broke through the wall of the room, allowing those outside to finally see in.

Umbridge quickly led the group through the opening, only to be greeted by a volley of Stunners that knocked most of them out. The others realized quickly that they were no match for all the students still in the room so they left immediately. Meanwhile Harry had flashed to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw common rooms and removed the traps.

Once all the students had returned to their common rooms, Harry approached those Slytherins who had attacked the room and revived them.

"Yet again you have shown your stupidity in attacking me," announced Harry as they looked up, realizing he was holding their wands. "I have tried to reason with you, given you more than one chance to redeem yourselves; but you have continued to show a lack of intelligence. Now get out of here before I get angry," Harry told them, snapping each of the wands and throwing the remains back to them.

"I will get you for this," screamed Baddock as he rushed out of the room.

As soon as the others had left, Ginny flashed into the room and immediately revived Cho.

"Will you never learn?" Ginny said angrily.

"What are you doing here?" asked Cho in confusion.

"That doesn't matter. Obviously you need to be dealt with and I have the perfect solution."

"You can't do anything to me," replied Cho before reaching for her wand.

"Looking for this?" announced Harry as he twirled it in his fingers.

"Give that back right now," demanded Cho.

"Okay," replied Harry before snapping it and handing it back. "Oops, I seem to have broken it."

Cho launched herself at Harry, attempting to stab him with a knife she had pulled from her sleeve. However she was stopped in midflight by a punch from Ginny that knocked the wind completely out of her. They all heard her arm break as she crashed to the floor screaming in agony.

"You have had your last warning already. This time we will make sure you remember to leave us alone," stated Ginny before vanishing all Cho's clothes except her underwear.

"Ha, I knew they were fake," announced Ginny happily as she spotted the padding in Cho's bra.

Ginny quickly removed the padding, leaving Cho in her natural state before placing a Memory Charm on her and sending her to the Great Hall where all the other students were eating dinner.

Cho ran from the Great Hall in tears, but not before everyone had seen her and realized just how small she really was. She knew that she would never live the humiliation down after that.

Once Ginny had dealt with Cho, Harry placed Umbridge in an enhanced sleep that would guarantee that she didn't wake up until the next morning. Then he asked Dobby to take her back to her quarters and leave her there.

"Oh and, Dobby, don't forget what Umbridge did to Lissy," Harry said with a smirk.

Dobby suddenly realized what Harry was implying and snapped his fingers, causing Umbridge to float in the air. Dobby slowly walked down the corridor with Umbridge hitting every object along the way.

"Oops, that is going to hurt," said Sirius as he watched Umbridge smack into several suits of armor.

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer person," replied Harry before flashing with Ginny to her holding cell.

Ginny quickly picked up her book and sat on the bed as they sensed someone approaching. Harry moved into the shadows with his Invisibility Cloak fully covering him and watched carefully.

When they arrived at the door leading to the holding cells, Fudge turned to Auror Jones. "Wait here and do not allow anyone to enter until I return."

Fudge then stormed off towards Ginny's cell.

"What have you done with Rodolphus and Rabastan?" asked Fudge as he attempted to open the cell door only to find it sealed shut.

"What are you talking about, Minister? I have been in my cell since Auror Bartholomew returned me yesterday," replied Ginny calmly.

"Liar, I know Auror Harris took you to the interrogation room earlier. You won't get away with this any longer," sneered Fudge as he blasted open the cell door.

"I don't know how you managed to escape from Rodolphus and Rabastan, but you won't escape from me," sneered Fudge as he threw a Full Body-Bind curse at Ginny.

It took all of Harry's strength to remain still as he watched Fudge approach Ginny.

"Not so clever now, are you?" mocked Fudge as he walked towards her.

Ginny refused to answer. She sat perfectly still so Fudge wouldn't know that curse had already been lifted.

"Look at me, you dirty slut," said Fudge, slowly raising his voice as she continued to ignore him.

"How can I when you put a Full Body-Bind on me?" asked Ginny.

"Potter isn't here to protect you this time. I will have some fun with you before disposing of you," mocked Fudge as he looked Ginny up and down mentally undressing her. Harry and Ginny both saw the thoughts that crossed Fudge's mind as he did.

' _He is starting to scare me,_ ' Ginny told Harry as Fudge leaned closer to her.

' _Don't worry, Gin. I will not allow anything to happen, even if I have to confront him now,_ ' Harry told her, trying to calm her down.

"I wonder what Potter will think of you when I have finished with you," stated Fudge as he lunged forward and ripped her top, exposing her chest.

"Hmm, I can see why he likes you. I am going to enjoy hearing you scream when I take you," added Fudge as he lunged at her again.

Before Fudge could reach Ginny however, four Elite Goblin Warriors appeared and one of them blasted Fudge against the wall.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" shouted Fudge angrily as he threw a Killing Curse at Ginny.

One of the Goblins jumped in front of the curse before it could hit Ginny. The others stunned Fudge before sending a message to Ranok.

As soon as Fudge was knocked out and secured, Harry removed his cloak and took a shaking Ginny into his arms, while pouring all his love and comfort into the bond.

"Mr. Potter, we have the recording that shows Minister Fudge's actions against Mrs. Potter," explained the lead Warrior Joghut.

"Thank you, Joghut. Please make a copy of the recording. I have sent a message to Amelia Bones and she will be down in a few minutes," replied Harry as he repaired Ginny's clothes.

' _Thank you,_ ' Ginny said, still shaking slightly.

' _I'm sorry you had to go through that,_ ' replied Harry as he held her tightly.

' _It could have been worse. At least I knew the Goblins and you were seconds away. There have been many others who have not had that comfort,_ ' Ginny told him.

' _Still doesn't mean we have to like it. I just hope that it is enough to force his hand. Otherwise we are going to have to do this differently._ '

Before Ginny could respond, Amelia arrived with several Aurors as did Ranok and several more Goblin Warriors.

Two of the warriors performed a ritual on the dead Goblin before he disappeared. All the others in the room observed silently in respect before discussing what had happened.

"Miss Weasley, please can you tell me what happened?" asked Amelia once Kingsley had activated a recording device.

Ginny explained exactly what had happened. At the end of the interview, Joghut provided Kingsley with several recordings that confirmed Ginny's statements on her treatment by the Aurors, Fudge and the Lestrange brothers.

"Thank you, Miss Weasley," Amelia told her once the file had been sealed and removed from the room.

"Please revive our esteemed Minister," spat Amelia.

Once Fudge had been revived, he immediately went on the offensive.

"What is going on? I clearly stated that no one was to come down here until I had finished with the Weasley girl," stated Fudge to the Auror who revived him.

"What's your problem?" asked Fudge when he saw the stricken look on the Auror's face.

"I believe, Minister Fudge, that you need to explain your last statement. You know perfectly well that no prisoner is to be interviewed without having at least two people present," announced Amelia with glee at his own admission.

"That doesn't apply to the Minister," replied Fudge before turning toward her. "What are they doing here?" Fudge added as he pointed to the Goblins in the room.

"Minister Fudge, once again you have attacked a Goblin in the course of performing his duty. We have warned you before. Yet you have refused to acknowledge the request and proceeded to take the life of another Goblin," stated Ranok.

"I don't answer to you, you filthy scum," spat Fudge before turning his back to Ranok. "Now I demand that you leave this building immediately."

"Minister Fudge, Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley is under the protection of the Goblin Nation. The Elite Goblin Warrior guard will not be leaving until such time as that protection is revoked," announced Ranok.

"What are you talking about? She is nothing but a blood traitor. How can she be under the protection of the Goblin Nation?" replied Fudge in confusion.

"We will not reveal why Miss Weasley is under our protection. However you can rest assured that a large Goblin presence will be felt throughout this building as long as Miss Weasley is here," Ranok told him with a toothy smile.

"That is not acceptable," spat Fudge as he started to pace.

"You have no say in the matter," added Ranok before ordering another battalion of Goblin Warriors to deploy to the Ministry.

"Master Ranok, what would it take for you to remove the Goblins from the Ministry?" asked Amelia with a smirk.

"We will only remove our Warriors from the Ministry once Miss Weasley had been put on trial for the crimes she is accused of. Until such time as that happens, the Warriors will not leave their posts. If any others are injured or killed while protecting Miss Weasley, the Ministry will be held responsible."

"Fine, the trial will be held tomorrow morning," stated Fudge before storming off in anger.

' _Wow, I never thought he would back down that quickly,_ ' stated Ginny as she watched him retreat.

' _Now the fun begins,_ ' stated Harry.

Just before they left, Amelia approached them. "Harry, given the circumstances, I am happy to let Ginny return with you this evening. Make sure she is in the courtroom on time tomorrow so that Fudge cannot try and use that against you."

"Thank you," replied Harry before they both disappeared to Potter Castle to prepare.

Later that evening after Harry and Ginny had spent some time alone to celebrate her freedom, they were both sitting in Harry's office waiting for several other people to arrive.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Harry said as he offered seats to Bill, Amelia and Albus. Maxim delivered drinks and snacks before disappearing again.

"As you know Fudge has given in and the trial will be tomorrow. The time has come to make our move and I want to make sure everyone is ready and knows what they need to do.

"Bill, we need to make sure that all the evidence has been duplicated and is ready to present. Fudge will try anything to get out of this. Due to the changes he has made to the law, it is going to be very hard for us anyway.

"Amelia, because Fudge is prosecuting and Umbridge is bring the charges against Ginny, you will be the most senior member of the Wizengamot and therefore will be presiding over the trial. Once the actual trial starts, I will make my appearance. You will need to react accordingly.

"By the time we have finished, there will be a few less people in the courtroom and hopefully Fudge and Umbridge will have been taken care of. You need to be aware that I will be bringing Goblin Warriors with me to arrest those who need to be dealt with and they will all be transported to Azkaban.

"Albus, unfortunately you cannot be there, due to the outstanding arrest warrant. I believe the best place for you to be is at Hogwarts, just in case something happens. Hopefully we can limit the news that gets out so people won't know, but we can never be certain."

The three of them listened as Harry gave out the rest of the instructions. They all knew their roles and how important it was for this to happen.

"We will be ready," replied Bill as he showed Harry the evidence folders they had compiled.

"Thank you. I know you will. We just cannot afford to mess this up, one misstep and everything could be undone," replied Harry before dismissing them.

Once the meeting finished, they flashed to their room.

' _It will all be over soon,_ ' Harry told her as they lay together on the bed.

' _I know. It just seems so strange that finally Fudge and the others will be taken care of,_ ' replied Ginny.

' _We just have to get through the trial. Then we can relax. It will be Christmas before we know it._ '

They both lay in silence until they fell asleep, thinking about what would happen tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, every member of the Wizengamot was waiting patiently for Minister Fudge to arrive. They had been sitting there for over an hour and there was still no sign of the Minister.

Finally an hour and a half after the trial was due to start, Fudge walks in with a large smile.

"Members of the Wizengamot, please accept my apologies for being late this morning. An unfortunate incident occurred this morning requiring my time," announced Fudge.

"Please proceed," announced Amelia as Percy started taking notes.

"Member of the Wizengamot, Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley is charged with attacking Professor Dolores Umbridge while she was performing her duties as a Professor. This attack led to the firing of Albus Dumbledore and unraveled the true nature of what has been going on at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," stated Fudge.

Before Fudge could proceed with his arguments, the room was filled with light and a hooded figure appeared in the middle of the court.

"Madam Bones, please pardon the interruption," stated the figure clearly.

"Who are you?" asked Fudge angrily.

"My identity will be revealed very soon, but first there are some issues that need to be dealt with."

Fudge raised his wand towards the figure. "I AM THE MINISTER OF MAGIC! REVEAL YOURSELF NOW!"

When the figure refused to respond, Fudge threw a Stunner at him only to watch in amazement as it bounced off an invisible shield back towards him. Fudge only just got out of the way of the curse, causing it to impact on the wall behind him.

"Arrest that man," shouted Fudge as he got back to his feet.

Several Aurors approached him before Madam Bones ordered them to step down.

"Minister Fudge, you do not have the authority to arrest this man. He has not committed any crimes and has requested permission to address this court," Amelia stated.

"You clearly saw him attack me," responded Fudge as he marched towards the figure again.

"MINISTER FUDGE, SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT!" shouted Amelia. "You are the one who attacked him. He simply defended himself."

To everyone's amazement, Fudge actually backed down and took his seat in the courtroom as the figure addressed the court.

"Thank you," the figure told the court before producing a large folder full of documents.

"Madam Bones, contained in this folder is evidence that clearly shows that several members of this court have been or still continue to work for the Dark Lord known as Voldemort," the figure stated.

A number of gasps were heard when Voldemort's name was announced. Several other people suddenly looked very concerned at what could be contained in the folder.

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS TRIAL!?" shouted Fudge.

"Minister Fudge, this is your final warning," Amelia told him before returning her attention to the figure.

The figure waved his wand and a copy of the documents appeared in front of Amelia.

"Madam Bones, I believe it would be prudent at this point to arrest the people mentioned in this folder before they can attempt to escape."

Amelia looked down at the list and was surprised that she didn't see Fudge or Umbridge on the list. She knew Harry must have something else planned for them, so made it look as though she was examining the evidence before responding.

"We don't have enough Aurors present to arrest the people listed in this document," responded Amelia several minutes later.

"I have already taken care of that," replied the figure calmly.

"Then you have my permission to proceed."

Seconds later, twenty heavily armed Goblins appeared around the chamber and immediately arrested ten of the members.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS FARCE!" shouted Fudge as he watched his colleagues get arrested by Goblin warriors. Before anyone realized what was happening, Fudge launched a Killing Curse towards the figure.

He smiled, knowing that nothing could stop the curse as it sailed towards the figure standing in the courtroom. However, that smile slid off his face as he watched the curse crash into another invisible shield and disappear completely.

' _This is working out better than we hoped. I cannot believe he was stupid enough to use an Unforgivable in front of the whole Wizengamot,_ ' Ginny said happily.

' _He is still untouchable at the moment, but it will show just how complacent the Wizengamot has become and make fixing it much easier,_ ' replied Harry.

"Auror, please place Minister Fudge under arrest for attempted murder," stated Amelia Bones as everyone was still reeling from the attack.

"You cannot arrest me," stated Fudge smugly. "You really should read the laws you approve before signing them."

"What are you talking about? You clearly used an Unforgivable in the presence of over two hundred witnesses," replied Amelia, knowing full well what law he was referring too.

"The Wizengamot approved law 1990-12-1800 that clearly stated the Minister of Magic is allowed to use the Unforgivable Curses at his discretion," replied Fudge smugly.

A number of members of the court shouted out in protest, but were quickly silenced when Amelia agreed to what Fudge had stated.

"Now I believe we have wasted enough time here today," stated Fudge as he tried to restart the proceedings against Ginny.

"Actually, Minister Fudge, I haven't finished yet," stated the figure as he produced another folder, which also appeared in front of Amelia.

"Madam Bones, the file I now bring before you relates to charges against Undersecretary Dolores Jane Umbridge," stated the figure before dodging a curse from said person.

"Madam Umbridge, you are under arrest for using an Unforgivable Curse in addition to the list of charges presented in this folder," announced Amelia before another two Goblin warriors appeared.

"Madam Bones, you cannot arrest Madam Umbridge. She is protected by the same law 1990-12-1800 subsection 12 by order of the Minister of Magic," announced Fudge with a great deal of happiness.

Yet again several people protested only to be silenced by a glum looking Amelia Bones.

"NOW CAN WE GET ON WITH THIS TRIAL?" shouted Fudge.

"Not just yet, Minister. I have one last file that needs to be dealt with," replied the figure before once again producing a file, this one much larger then the previous ones.

"This, Madam Bones, covers the crimes committed by one Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic," announced the figure to the gasps of those around the room.

"You fool, you cannot charge me," stated Fudge triumphantly.

"Actually, Minister Fudge, you are wrong," replied the figure calmly.

"Law 1991-06-716 clearly states that the Minister cannot be prosecuted while in office and Law 1991-09-1122 clearly states that the Minister cannot be fired from office," replied Fudge with a haunting laugh.

"Yes, I am well aware of the corruption of the laws that you created, Minister. However the ancient law of Merlin supersedes these laws. I, Heir of Merlin, do hereby call for a vote of no confidence in Minister Fudge's rule," announced the figure.

"YOU'RE A FRAUD! THERE IS NO HEIR OF MERLIN!" shouted Fudge just as predicted.

"Are you challenging my claim?" asked the figure.

"Yes," replied Fudge instantly, "I, Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Head of the Fudge Family, Minister of Magic, do hereby challenge your claim to be Heir of Merlin."

"I, Lord Harry James Potter, Heir of Gryffindor, Prince of the Phoenix Realm, and Heir of Merlin, do accept your challenge," replied Harry as he pulled off his cloak.

The courtroom was completely silent as everyone came to terms with what had just happened.

Fudge, believing he could get one up on the brat, added "As defined by the ancient laws, I do hereby declare this to be an immediate family duel and name Dolores Jane Umbridge-Fudge as my second."

The court room was completely silent as everyone suddenly realized what Fudge had just told them.

"Minister Fudge, are you telling us that you are illegally married to two people?" asked Amelia.

"It is not illegal. As I stated before, you really should read the laws that you agreed to," stated Fudge smugly.

' _Well this is an interesting twist,_ ' Harry told Ginny as they watched Fudge closely.

' _Wow, he must be desperate to be married to that,_ ' replied Ginny, who was suddenly feeling sick.

' _Well it definitely brings a new meaning to the title Undersecretary,_ ' added Harry, much to Ginny's disgust.

' _Thanks,_ ' stated Ginny as a mental image of Fudge and Umbridge together flashed across her mind that she really didn't want to ever think about again.

Meanwhile Amelia was reviewing the law in question and reluctantly agreed that there was nothing illegal about the second marriage.

"Mr. Potter, as you know you must respond to the terms of the challenge," announced Amelia with a small smile, knowing perfectly well that Fudge had made things much easier for them all.

"I accept your conditions and name Lady Ginevra Molly Potter, Heiress of Gryffindor, Princess of the Phoenix Realm, and Heiress of Merlin as my second," replied Harry immediately, causing even more gasps which only intensified as a bright flash filled the room. A Goblin dressed in full battle armor appeared, surrounded by four extremely menacing looking Goblin warriors.

"You're lying!" shouted Fudge. "Miss Weasley is too young to be married."

"Correct, she is too young to be married…"

"See, I told you he was a liar. This duel is null and void and by the ancient laws I am the victor," interrupted Fudge.

"Before I was rudely interrupted, I was about to say that we are too young to be married according to Ministry laws. However, we are married by 'Animus vinculum una forever' and therefore are legally married. I call on Ranok, Leader of the Goblin Nation to perform the verification spells to prove our claim," stated Harry as Ranok stepped forward.

Ranok immediately explained the process to the Wizengamot and performed the spells to reveal the Soul Bond between Harry and Ginny confirming them to be married.

"Madam Bones, I request that Ranok and you referee this duel," stated Harry as he transformed the courtroom into a dueling arena before their very eyes.

"I accept," replied Amelia as did Ranok.

"They are too young," shouted Fudge desperately.

"Minister Fudge, both Mr. and Mrs. Potter are seen as adults in the Wizarding World and therefore the duel is valid," replied Amelia.

"I, Madam Amelia Bones, do hereby declare the duel between Lord Harry James Potter and Cornelius Oswald Fudge to have begun," she announced loudly before a magical barrier appeared around the arena with the six of them inside.

Fudge immediately launched a Killing Curse at Harry, hoping that it would catch him off guard. He knew immediately it was a foolish idea as a shield appeared in front of the curse and when it cleared, several powerful curses were flying toward him.

"What makes you think that would have worked this time?" mocked Harry as Fudge dived out of the way of the curses. Unfortunately, for him, Umbridge was not so fast and was knocked out by the Stunner.

"You can't do that," shouted Fudge.

"Minister Fudge, the curse was directed at you. Mr. Potter is not at fault. The duel will continue," announced Amelia immediately.

Fudge threw several more curses at Harry. Each of which hit his shield and disappeared, Fudge failing to notice the shield getting brighter.

"You would think that the Minister of Magic would be able to actually duel," stated Harry loudly to Ginny, who was standing next to him enjoying the show.

"I guess that's what happens when the Minister works for a half-blood Dark Lord," replied Ginny loudly.

Fudge quickly revived Umbridge. They both attacked with powerful Killing Curses, again watching the spells disappear as they hit the shield.

Amelia was about to interrupt when a signal from Harry stopped her, so she allowed the fight to continue.

"And now we have his Death Eater second wife joining the battle. It's not surprising that Voldemort keeps losing his battles if this is the best he can do for followers," stated Ginny with a laugh.

"He is probably desperate to get rid of them," replied Harry as he watched more curses crash into the shield. "Oh, I forgot he can't do anything at the moment. He still hasn't woken up from the last battle. And it does actually explain a lot that he couldn't beat a one year old, so how could his followers beat anyone?"

Several members of the court laughed at Harry's comment. One however didn't take kindly to the mocking and launched a Killing Curse towards the arena. Seconds later, the curse disappeared and two Goblin Warriors had the man in custody, having revealed his Dark Mark.

"This is boring. I think we should just finish it now and go home for supper," announced Harry as he yawned.

Harry flicked his wand towards Fudge and Umbridge, causing the sleeves of their robes to disappear. He could clearly see glamour charms covering the Dark Mark on their arms, so caused them to disappear also.

Many around the courtroom gasped as they realized that the two most senior members of the Government were working for the Dark Lord. Several people tried to launch curses at the Minister, but none of them could get through the protections around the dueling arena.

Fudge and Umbridge knew that even if they won this duel, no one would ever trust them again. In their anger, they rushed towards Harry's shield and cast two more very powerful Killing Curses. Neither of them realized that the shield had changed color. Before they could react, the curses bounced back towards them killing them instantly.

The shield around the duel arena disappeared once the duel was over and everyone sat in complete astonishment at what they had witnessed. Two Aurors immediately removed the bodies of Fudge and Umbridge from the arena.

"Madam Bones, during the duel someone attempted to attack me. I demand immediately that every member of the court be checked for the presence of the Dark Mark," stated Harry as he watched the guards remove the person.

"I agree. All members will exit the court through this door and will be examined. If anyone refuses, they will be arrested and questioned using Veritaserum," announced Amelia.

The members all filed out as ordered and one other person was found to be carrying the mark. They were immediately arrested and escorted to Azkaban with the other prisoners.

 _A/N:_ _Animus vinculum una forever = Souls bonded together forever_

 _The reason the Elite guards didn't do anything to stop Cho from kissing Harry was because he wasn't in immediate danger._


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six**

Harry and Ginny sat in a small room off of the courtroom relaxing, as they waited for everyone to return. Amelia had asked them to stay there as technically Ginny was still on trial and she didn't want to do anything until everyone returned. She also told them that news of what had happened had spread like wildfire and there were numerous members of the press waiting outside the doors.

' _How are you doing?_ ' Harry asked once he finished eating the meal that Maxim had provided.

' _Okay, I can't believe it is finally over,_ ' replied Ginny as she climbed onto his lap.

' _Unfortunately I think it is far from over but at least these vermin have been removed._ '

' _But how many more will we find?_ ' asked Ginny as she threaded her fingers through the gap in Harry's shirt and started playing with the hair on his chest.

' _They will keep coming out of the woodwork until Tom has been dealt with. I don't think we will ever be free of them, but hopefully it will be less of a problem after that,_ ' replied Harry as he ran his fingers through her hair.

They continued to cuddle each other as they thought about everything that had happened to them recently. Meeting Merlin, Gryffindor and their families was still fresh in their mind and now they had achieved at least one of the goals that they needed to but knew the challenges ahead were not going to be easy.

A while later, they were both sleeping in the chair when Amelia came by and woke them up. She advised them that it was time to return to the courtroom.

Once everyone was settled in, Amelia stood and addressed the court. "Members of the Wizengamot, we were brought here this morning for the trial of Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley, who we now know as Mrs. Ginevra Molly Potter. The list of charges against Mrs. Potter was brought by Madam Umbridge and former Minister Fudge. As neither of them is able to pursue these charges, I call for a vote to clear Mrs. Potter of all charges."

Harry was pleased to see there wasn't any hint of hesitation as all the hands raised the second Amelia had finished speaking.

"Mrs. Ginevra Molly Potter, you are cleared of charges and are free to leave. On behalf of the Wizengamot, I would like to apologize for the treatment you received while in custody. If it hadn't been for your Elite Goblin Warrior guard, I believe the interrogations you received would have included torture and possibly rape, with all of this organized and supported by our former Minister Fudge."

"Thank you, Madam Bones. I accept your apology," replied Ginny calmly.

"Now unless there is any other business, I believe we need to prepare for elections to select a new Minister of Magic," announced Amelia.

"Madam Bones, I would like to address the court once again," announced Harry as he stood before them.

"Please proceed," replied Amelia as she once again took her seat, knowing what was about to happen.

"As Heir of Merlin, I have the right to nominate the next Minister of Magic. Therefore I propose that Madam Amelia Susan Bones serve as Minister of Magic. I call for an immediate vote, all those in favor?"

Every member of the Wizengamot raised their hands.

"Carried unanimous. Madam Amelia Susan Bones, I hereby declare you to be Minister of Magic," announced Harry.

"Second, I propose the reinstatement of the Vice Minister of Magic post and nominate Arthur Weasley to serve."

Amelia Bones seconded the nomination and called for an immediate vote, which also passed unanimous.

"Finally, I call for the false charges against Albus Dumbledore to be dropped and the arrest warrant revoked," Harry told the court.

Amelia called for another vote, which again passed unanimous.

"Before we recess, I have several announcements to make," stated Amelia.

"First, I, Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Bones Family, Minister of Magic do hereby offer an official apology to Master Ranok and the Goblin Nation for the treatment received by the former Minister. I thank them for their assistance today in removing the undesirable elements from the Wizengamot. In addition, I fully support and endorse the agreements established between Harry James Potter and the Goblin Nation in respect to Azkaban and Gringotts."

"I Master Ranok, Leader of the Goblin Nation, do accept your apology and fully support the nomination of Amelia Susan Bones and Arthur Weasley and offer each the protection of the Goblin Nation."

Immediately sixteen Goblin Warriors appeared in the room and surrounded Amelia, Arthur and their families.

"As today has shown, we have failed the Wizarding World. Not only have we failed to review all the laws that have been proposed, thereby allowing the former Minister to make any changes he wanted to keep himself in power, but we have also failed to bring to justice those who have clearly broken the law."

"Therefore effectively immediately, I will be asking Mr. Weasley to create a task force to review all the laws that have been passed during the previous administration. We will bring any that need to be reviewed or removed to the Wizengamot and will deal with them correctly."

"I can also promise effective immediately that we will have full disclosure of what the task force is doing."

As Amelia was addressing the course of action, Dumbledore arrived having been notified that his arrest warrant had been revoked.

"Welcome back Chief Warlock. Your presence will be needed in the coming days," Amelia said.

"Thank you, Minister," replied Dumbledore as he took his seat.

"There will be a press conference tomorrow morning to announce the changes that have already occurred and will continue to occur as we review the policies within the Ministry. I request that each of you make yourselves available for this conference," Amelia told them before dismissing everyone for the day.

The courtroom quickly emptied with everyone talking excitedly about the changes that had already been implemented.

"Albus, please will you join us in my new office?" Amelia said.

"I would be delighted to," replied Albus as he followed her out of the courtroom followed by Harry and Ginny.

They were immediately surrounded by numerous reporters all clamouring to get pictures and quotes.

"Mr. Potter, why did you take so long before revealing your true heritage?" asked one of them.

"Why did you allow Minister Fudge to corrupt the government so much before acting?" asked another.

The Aurors were trying to move everyone away from them, but it wasn't working.

"Mrs. Potter, how much did Mr. Potter pay you to be his whore?" asked Rita Skeeter with a nasty smirk.

The reaction to that question was instant and effective as a large fireball filled the corridor causing all the reporters to dive out of the way. They were shocked to find, when they finally picked themselves up, that Harry, Ginny, Amelia and Albus had disappeared. In addition, several noticed a large lizard sitting on the floor where Rita had previously been standing.

Meanwhile in Amelia's office, the four suddenly appeared in a flash of flames, startling Percy Weasley who had been clearing out Fudge's stuff.

"Mr. Weasley, please can you return later to complete this? I have an important meeting to take care of," Amelia asked before escorting him out of the office.

Once the door was closed, she sealed the room to stop anyone from listening in. At the same time, Harry performed a sweep of the room using his Phoenix senses making sure there were no monitoring devices active.

"The room is secure," replied Harry a few minutes later.

"Thank you, Harry," replied Amelia before offering them each a seat.

"Albus, now that you are back at Hogwarts, we need to make sure the mistakes that were allowed under our former Minister's rule are corrected. First, effective immediately all the Education Decrees that were created are revoked. Second, we need to determine how many people have been affected by the actions of Madam Umbridge and make sure they are taken care of.

"We have already taken care of most of that. Thankfully only a few people supported her actions. I will be taking care of the rest when I return," replied Albus.

"Now that Fudge has been removed from office, we need to make sure that everyone is aware that Voldemort has returned," announced Amelia.

"I will help with that," added Harry. "We have some very useful information that should be revealed to the Wizarding World regarding Voldemort."

"Excellent, I look forward to working with you three in the future," Amelia told them before turning to review the list of items that needed to be dealt with.

Arthur arrived a few minutes later so they could begin work.

Harry, Ginny and Albus left Amelia's office a few hours later and made their way to the Atrium.

"Albus, Ginny and I will be spending the evening at Potter Castle, but will return to Hogwarts in the morning for breakfast," Harry announced as they approached the Apparition point.

"Thank you for advising me. I will see you in the morning," Albus said just before disappearing.

Harry took Ginny's hand and flashed them both directly to their bedroom at Potter Castle.

* * *

Early the next morning, Harry and Ginny flashed directly to the Founder's study. They deliberately arrived with a large flash of fire startling Fred and Hermione, who were busy snogging on the couch.

"Morning," Ginny said with a large smile before hugging Hermione.

"Congratulations, I am so glad you are back," stated Hermione as she returned the hug.

"Thanks. I never had any doubt but it wasn't nice spending all that time in the Ministry holding cells."

"Well at least you had Harry to keep you company, so it can't have been that bad," Hermione said with a smirk.

"That is true," replied Ginny with a mischievous smile.

They continued to chat as they made their way down to breakfast. The others had soon caught up with them and were all chatting happily. Even Ron was pleased to see both of them back safely.

While they were eating, Hedwig arrived with a special edition of the Daily Prophet. As expected, it revealed to the Wizarding World the shocking events that had occurred in the Wizengamot.

 _ **Heir of Merlin Revealed**_

 _ **By Robert Smith**_

 _ **This morning during the trial of Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley, the Heir of Merlin was revealed to be none other than Harry James Potter, who it turns out is also Soul Bonded to Ginevra.**_

 _ **The news came during a session of the Wizengamot that will not quickly be forgotten. Just as the trial was beginning, a flash of light filled the chamber. When it dissipated, a person later to be revealed as Harry James Potter had appeared. After revealing that ten members of the Wizengamot were actively working for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, each were immediately arrested by heavily armed Goblin Warriors.**_

 _ **Minister Fudge then proceeded to attack Mr. Potter with a Killing Curse, which to everyone's amazement was stopped by a shield. When Madam Bones attempted to have the Minister arrested, he proceeded to remind them of law 1990-12-1800, which allowed the Minister to use the Unforgivables at his discretion.**_

 _ **Mr. Potter then revealed the crimes committed by Madam Umbridge, including torture of students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was also arrested by the Goblin Warriors before Minister Fudge revealed that she was protected by law 1990-12-1800 sub section 12.**_

 _ **Mr. Potter then proceeded to reveal the crimes committed by Minister Fudge, see pages 10-50 of this special edition for further details. When Minister Fudge attempted to claim that he couldn't be punished, the still hidden figure revealed his full heritage, which Minister Fudge immediately challenged. Further details below.**_

"Nothing new there," said Harry as he finished reading the article. Before he could dispose of the paper, Ginny grabbed it having seen the next headline and proceeded to read, much to Harry's embarrassment.

 _ **Potter Off the Market**_

 _ **By Rita Skeeter**_

 _ **Many heartbroken witches across the country learned today that Harry James Potter, recently voted hottest young wizard following his success in the Triward Tournament, is not only off the market but has been married to Ginevra Molly Weasley since last Christmas when they Soul Bonded.**_

 _ **Mr. Potter, who returned to the Wizarding World a scrawny boy, has grown into most teen witches' fantasy man (and some older witches' too it must be said.) Most of Harry's closest friends were aware of the union, but swore to keep it secret until they were ready to reveal the truth.**_

" _ **Even before the Soul Bond Harry was such a gentleman. He invited Ginny to the Yule Ball. He sent her some of the loveliest gifts I have ever seen. He even took dance lessons so that she could enjoy the evening. But that wasn't what was so special, each gift was accompanied by a short but sweet note," said Hermione Granger, close friend of both.**_

 _ **Others were not so kind. "We didn't understand why Harry always spent his time with that trollop, but now we know. She must have done something to cause the Soul Bond," said one Romilda Vane.**_

' _Just wait until I get my hands on her,_ ' said Ginny angrily into the bond.

' _Don't worry about it, Gin. We both know it's not true._ '

" _ **Just because the slut opened her legs for Potter, they form a Soul Bond? That is so unfair. I bet her parents put her up to it to get some money, not that I blame them. I would have sold off that tramp at the first opportunity too," said Cho Chang, who sources tell us has been after Potter for some time.**_

' _Calm down,_ ' Harry said as the room began to warm considerably.

' _She has gone too far this time,_ ' stated Ginny before disappearing from the room, closely followed by Harry.

Hermione grabbed the paper and continued to read to the others.

"Nothing much of value in that article. The next one talks about Fudge," she stated before starting to read it aloud.

 _ **Minister Fudge's Reign Ended by Own Curse**_

 _ **By Henriett James**_

 _ **Minister Fudge challenged the visitor's claim that he was Merlin's Heir. This automatically forced them into a death duel (see ancient dueling etiquette page 51). Once Minister Fudge realized who was making the claim, he tried to call for an immediate family duel, believing that it would give him an advantage. As we now know, that didn't work out so well.**_

 _ **The duel between Minister Fudge and Harry James Potter was over rather quickly this morning. Minister Fudge and Madam Umbridge continued to batter the unbreakable shield of Potter's using Killing Curses the whole time. Just before the end of the battle, Potter vanished the sleeves to their robes to reveal that each had He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's Mark on their left arm.**_

 _ **In the end, Minister Fudge and Madam Umbridge were responsible for their own deaths as their Killing curses bounced off Harry's shield directly back at them, giving them no chance to move out of the way.**_

 _ **See page 52 for additional information on the ancient laws and how they led to the downfall of Minister Fudge.**_

"Looks like we missed some entertainment," stated Hermione when she finished reading. She soon passed the paper to Fred as he was trying to read the article about his dad.

 _ **Madam Amelia Susan Bones named Minister, Arthur Weasley Vice Minister**_

 _ **By Henriett James**_

 _ **Following the conclusion of the duel, Mr. Potter immediately demonstrated his understanding of the ancient laws as he used his position to nominate Madam Amelia Susan Bones as the new Minister before also reinstating the Vice Minister position and nominating his father-in-law Mr. Arthur Weasley to the position.**_

 _ **Both nominations were voted on and passed with unanimous support. Madam Bones immediately released Mrs. Potter with an official apology for what had happened (see page 6) when in Ministry custody.**_

 _ **The Minister then shocked a number of people in the Wizengamot when she issued an official apology to the Goblin Nation for the way they had been treated by the previous administration and agreed to support an agreement between Harry Potter and the Goblin nation (see page 57).**_

"Congratulations, Dad," said all the Weasleys, who were still in the room. During all the celebrations, they had not had time to discuss what actually happened after the duel.

"Thanks," replied Arthur happily.

"So what exactly does the Vice Minister do?" asked Percy, who had been the one to provide Bill and therefore Harry a lot of the additional information they had against Fudge, Umbridge and the other Death Eaters who had been arrested.

Realizing that none of the others really cared about that, Arthur invited Percy to the library to discuss it further and to also offer him a job working with them to rebuild the Wizarding government.

* * *

Several hours later, Harry and Ginny were still arguing about the article and Cho Chang.

"Ginny, you can't just go and attack her," stated Harry, who was started to get very frustrated.

"WHY ARE YOU DEFENDING HER?" shouted Ginny angrily.

"I AM NOT DEFENDING HER. I AGREE COMPLETELY THAT SHE NEEDS TO PAY FOR WHAT SHE HAS SAID AND DONE, BUT YOU CANNOT JUST ATTACK HER," replied Harry, knowing it was pointless he had made the same argument for twenty minutes already.

"WELL IT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE DEFENDING HER," screamed Ginny as she threw a book at him.

"What is wrong with you? This is stupid," shouted Harry.

"I AM SICK OF THIS. WHY DON'T YOU JUST RUN OFF AND BE WITH HER AS THAT IS OBVIOUSLY WHAT YOU WANT?" screamed Ginny before flashing out of the room and blocking the bond so Harry couldn't follow her.

Harry slumped down sadly. He couldn't believe that Ginny would believe he wanted to be with Cho. He couldn't even stand to be in the same room as her, let alone want to do anything with her.

Harry went over his memories of the incidents involving Cho to determine if there was anything that would help him understand why Ginny had turned on him so quickly. He knew he had not had as much time recently for Ginny with everything that had happened, but he never kept anything from her and thought that their time together that afternoon had meant something.

Several hours later, Harry walked back down to the dining room, hoping that Ginny was there. The only person still there was Molly.

"Where's Ginny?" asked Molly when she saw Harry.

"We had a fight and she disappeared," replied Harry sadly.

"What happened?"

"She wanted to attack Cho Chang for what she had said. I told her she couldn't just attack her and now she thinks that I want to be with Cho," stated Harry as he slumped down in the chair.

"Oh dear, I am afraid she has her mother's temper when it comes to some things," replied Molly as she sat down next to Harry.

"I tried to explain that if she just attacked Cho, it could cause a whole host of issues for her. She wouldn't listen, just accused me of wanting to be with Cho. I thought she knew how much I love her and that there will never be anyone else for me," Harry said as a tear ran down his cheek.

"She knows, Harry. I know she will feel terrible when she realizes just how stupid she has been," Molly told him, knowing her daughter.

"That's not the worst thing however. She has blocked me out of the bond. We both promised never to do that again," Harry told Molly as more tears flowed down his face.

"Harry, you have something together that no one else can understand. I know it hurts at the moment that she broke her promise, but please be patient with her. She needs to realize in her own time what she has done is wrong. Unfortunately she is very proud, so it may take some time for her to calm down."

"I will try and understand and be patient," replied Harry as Molly pulled him into a strong hug.

"That's all you can do."

Harry disappeared to the sitting room. This was only the second fight they had ever had and it hurt. Harry didn't really understand why Ginny couldn't see just how much damage attacking Cho could cause.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Lily asked from her portrait as Harry collapsed into the couch deep in thought.

Harry explained everything that had happened and Ginny's reaction to him attempting to stop her from attacking Cho.

"Sounds like something your mother would have done too," replied James unhelpfully.

"That isn't helping," snapped Lily before turning back to Harry.

"Molly is right, Harry. You just need to give her some time," Lily told him.

"I just don't know if I can trust her again. We both promised never to block the bond again," Harry stated sadly.

"Harry, you have both been through a very stressful time recently. I think that maybe you both need some time to yourselves," suggested Lily.

"But she never said anything," replied Harry.

"You haven't had a lot of time to just sit down and talk. I know you have spent a lot of time together, but with everything that has happened and the changes you are making, you haven't had time for each other."

"But Tom is still out there and the Death Eaters are still trying to move forward," replied Harry.

"They are, but you have already done more for the Wizarding World that most people have achieved in their lifetimes."

"Now I just have to hope she comes back soon so we can talk," replied Harry sadly.

"It may take time, but that is something you both have a lot of," replied Lily.

"I hope so. I can't live without her. I would rather die than face that," Harry said before disappearing.

A few minutes later, Molly walked in, looking for Harry, "Lily, have you seen Harry?"

"Yes, he was just here. Thank you for talking to him. I am worried however. He said he would rather die than live without her. You don't think he would do something silly, do you?"

"I don't think so. Xavier won't let him but I will keep an eye on him for you," replied Molly.

"Thank you."

Molly called for Xavier and was pleased when he flashed into the room.

"Thank you for coming. We are worried about Harry. He told Lily that he would rather die than live without Ginny. We don't think he will try anything, but wanted to tell you just in case."

Xavier trilled an acknowledgement before disappearing again.

* * *

Albus was sitting quietly at his desk, having just received an update from Godric on what was happening at Potter Castle.

' _I don't think I will ever fully understand them,_ ' Albus said to Fawkes.

' _They are both young. Ginevra allowed her insecurities to dominate her mind and she read more into it than was there,_ ' replied Fawkes, who had witnessed the fight.

' _Do you think it will take long for them to fix it?_ '

' _I don't know. Ginevra was very upset when she left him. Unfortunately she also broke a promise she made to Harry, which is going to make things harder,_ ' replied Fawkes without elaborating on the promise.

Albus was brought back to reality by a knock at his door.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing Sirius Black and Professor McGonagall.

"Ah, Sirius, thank you for coming to see us today," announced Albus as he offered them a chair.

"Would you like a lemon drop?"

Sirius took the chair and happily reached into the bowl for a lemon drop.

"You asked to see me?" Sirius asked when he sat down.

"Yes, with the death of Umbridge, we are short of a DADA professor once again. I would like to offer you the position," replied Albus, looking hopeful.

"Are you serious? I would love to do it, but thought the Ministry had to assign the position now," replied Sirius.

"No, you are Sirius," replied Albus with a smirk.

"Oh no, you didn't," stated Minerva before slapping Albus.

Sirius just smiled. It had been a very long time since he had heard a Sirius/serious joke and it made him laugh.

"However I am very serious about offering you the position. Since Fudge has been removed, the Ministry has decided to stop interfering and therefore I can offer you the position."

"Well in that case, I would be happy to help," replied Sirius with a large smile.

"Excellent, well I will see you after Christmas then," replied Albus, who had already cancelled the remaining DADA lessons for the term. "You can move your stuff into your new office whenever you want. However I suggest some redecorating unless you like pink."

"One last thing before you leave. I would like to make the Dumbledore's Army club an official school duelling club. I would like the current leaders to still run it. But with our approval, they can still use the Room of Requirement as it can provide more realistic environments.

"I would also like to setup a duelling competition. Students from each year would compete and the winner would be awarded a prize. Of course we would have to exclude Harry and Ginny from that as it would be rather unfair," explained Albus as they walked to the office door.

"I will work on that over Christmas and present you my ideas when I start," replied Sirius before walking down the stairs.

* * *

"The time has come to take control of the Wizarding World," said Lucius at the meeting of Death Eaters. "Harry Potter has revealed he is the Heir of Merlin. With Fudge gone, the Ministry will be weak and unprotected."

"When do we attack?" asked another Death Eater.

"Now. They will not be expecting an attack so quickly. We will gather up the remaining Dementors and attack. Do not let anyone get out. If they cannot warn anyone of the attack, then the Ministry will be ours," replied Lucius.

The forty Death Eaters all donned their masks and prepared to Apparate to the Atrium. Lucius had already dispatched the two hundred Dementors that remained after their last attack.

The Phoenix that was patrolling close to the Ministry noticed the large group of Dementors approaching and immediately sent word to Harry.

' _Fawkes, please alert Albus that it appears the Ministry is under attack,_ ' ordered Harry as he went into full battle mode.

Harry wrote a note to Amelia, advising her of the pending attack and sent it with Xavier to the Ministry.

Harry then flashed to Ranok's office. "Ranok, sorry to disturb you. We believe the Ministry is under attack."

"What do you know at the moment?"

"A large force of Dementors was spotted approaching the Ministry. I don't know at present if there are any Death Eaters involved, but I wouldn't be surprised. They probably think the Ministry is vulnerable, which of course it would be if it wasn't for your Goblin warriors," replied Harry.

"The warriors are ready and can be at the Ministry in ten minutes," replied Ranok.

"Thank you. I will see you there," Harry told him before flashing directly to the Ministry.

As soon as Harry arrived, he could see a battle had already started. The forty Death Eaters were battling the few Ministry workers, who had been nearby. Harry was suddenly very thankful that Ranok was coming with the warriors as they were badly outnumbered.

Harry launched his Fire Patronus towards the Dementors, who were getting closer and closer to the largest group of Ministry Workers. His stag immediately started destroying them but it was taking a long time. A second Fire Patronus appeared and then several others as members of The New Marauders started appearing.

Harry was so focused on destroying the Dementors that he forgot about the Death Eaters for a second.

"Harry," shouted Hermione, causing him to spin around and see a curse coming at him. He attempted to raise his Merlin shield, but nothing happened, before anyone could react Harry took the fall force of the curse and was throw backwards.

The Death Eaters were emboldened when they saw that Harry had fallen and started fighting harder.

"Come on, we have dealt them a severe blow. It is time to finish this," shouted Lucius as he fired more curses towards Harry's body. However none of them touched Harry as his Elite Guards had set up a shield around him.

Hermione and Fred rushed over to him and help to protect him, not that they needed to with the Elite guards present. Fred started firing curses towards the Death Eaters while Hermione concentrated on trying to stop the blood flow.

Harry was losing blood quickly when Xavier flashed in and started healing his wound.

Moments later, Fawkes and Albus arrived. Fawkes immediately joined Xavier as he continued to pour tears into the wound. Albus surveyed the scene and quickly joined the battle.

A few minutes later, the battalion of Goblins arrived and immediately joined the battle too. A number of them launched their own Fire Patronuses and quickly wiped out the remaining Dementors. A number of others provided shields for the Ministry workers while the rest went after the Death Eaters.

Xavier was struggling to heal Harry's wound. He had been cursed using very Dark Magic. Not even the combined tears from Fawkes and Xavier were able to fully heal it.

' _Albus, I don't know what curse they used on Harry but the wound is not healing. We need to take him to Potter Castle so that you can give him a Blood-Replenishing Potion while we try and find a proper cure,_ ' Xavier said before they disappeared.

Albus explained to Amelia what had happened to Harry and where they had gone.

Realizing that they were not going to win this battle, most of the remaining Death Eaters quickly activated their emergency Portkeys and disappeared. However, a couple were not so lucky and were captured when they surrendered to the Goblins.

Amelia Bones walked forward once her Elite Guards had confirmed that it was safe.

"Thank you, Ranok, for your assistance. The Ministry is in your debt," Amelia said.

"You're welcome, Minister. Unfortunately most of the Death Eaters escaped, but we did manage to take out the rest of the Dementors," replied Ranok.

"Harry Potter was badly injured during the attack and is being treated as we speak. Whoever attacked him used a very Dark Curse and the wound is not healing," announced Amelia.

"I will visit Harry immediately to see if we can help. The Goblins have spent a great deal of time creating potions to counter a lot of Dark Curses because of all the attacks against our nation," explained Ranok.

"Frugtat, please deploy your troops throughout the Ministry. You are to report to Minister Bones and who ever she delegates," ordered Ranok before leaving.

The troops immediately deployed as ordered and made their presence known throughout the Ministry.

* * *

Xavier arrived at Potter Castle with Harry and immediately summoned Maxim and Sandy so they could take care of him.

The elves appeared seconds later and started tending to him as Xavier continued to drop tears into the wound.

Albus, Ranok, and Janakie all arrived a few minutes later with Fawkes.

"Albus, we have stabilized Harry but he is still losing blood. We need to find out what they did to him soon. Otherwise the replenishment will not be enough," Maxim stated.

"Thank you, Maxim. Ranok has some experience with these types of curses and is here to help," replied Albus as he stepped away to send a Patronus to Harry's friends.

Ranok and Janakie were using Goblin magic to try and identify what curse hit him. Unfortunately no one remembered what the curse looked like, so it was slow process.

Arthur and Molly arrived while they were working on Harry and were saddened to see that Ginny was nowhere to be found. Molly had hoped that Ginny would see sense when Harry was injured.

"Where is she?" spat Molly angrily at Arthur.

"I don't know, dear," replied Arthur in frustration.

"Well I certainly hope she doesn't expect Harry to just forgive her when she does finally realize just how stupid she has been. I have half a mind to drag her back here now."

"We both know that will not work, Molly. She would just push back harder if we tried anything. We just have to hope that Harry pulls through," replied Arthur.

Ranok and Janakie had finally identified the curse that had been used.

"It was a very dark version of the Cutting Curse. It stops the flesh from healing, which for most people would have resulted in them bleeding to death before anyone could get help. If Xavier had not arrived so quickly and started healing the wound, then Harry would have died before we got him here.

"We have administered the cure and now have to watch over him. Maxim and Sandy will continue to replenish his blood and we expect him to be back to full strength soon.

"However this is a wake up call for us all. We cannot afford to underestimate the Death Eaters again. I assume that Harry's shield failed today because of the rift between him and Mrs. Potter," announced Ranok.

"That is the same conclusion we came to," replied Albus. "Thank you again for all your help. I know Harry will appreciate it."

"We are always ready to help. I must return now and make sure our troops are deployed fully."

Molly sat and watched over Harry for the rest of the day. She told everyone else that she would send a message if anything happened.

When Harry finally woke up, he was pleased to see Molly, but saddened that Ginny wasn't anywhere to be found and was still blocking him out of the bond.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Molly stated when she saw Harry's sadness.

"Did she even come over?" asked Harry.

Harry could see from Molly's frown that she had not. This caused him to fall further into depression.

"You need to rest. Ranok advised us that you should be back to full strength soon."

Before Harry could get back to sleep however, Xavier arrived and told Harry he needed to go to Hogwarts immediately.

* * *

Meanwhile the Death Eaters, who had escaped from the attack at the Ministry, were discussing their failure to capture the ministry.

"How could they have known about the attack?" asked one of them.

"I don't know. They always seem to be one step ahead of us. We must find out before the next attack or we are doomed to fail again," announced Lucius Malfoy.

"At least we know now that the Goblins are working with the Ministry. I can only assume that is Potter's doing," added Lucius a moment later.

"What can we do about them? There were too many of them. We also have the unpleasant responsibility of telling our Lord that the Dementors have been wiped out. He is not going to be happy about this," another Death Eater stated.

"However, we do have some good news. Mr. Potter was hit by a very nasty curse and last I saw before leaving was unconscious," replied Lucius. "It is very unlikely that he was able to survive. However I suspect that they will try to keep this news very quiet."

"We need to determine what happened to him. If he didn't survive, then it is very likely that we will be able to convince those who are supporting him that they have wasted their time and our Lord will be able to bring them the glory they are looking for," stated another Death Eater.

"Unfortunately we have lost a lot of our contacts in the Ministry, so will not be able to find out easily what happened," replied Lucius

"We will soon be ready to retrieve one of our Lord's objects from the house. Everyone needs to be ready as we will perform the ritual once we have it. Our Lord will be back before Christmas. We should also plan a series of attacks against Potter's friends to announce our Lord's return," added Lucius.

* * *

Ginny was still refusing to talk to Harry and it had become well known around the school. Coming so close to the news of their actual marriage, this caused a lot of confusion and some people wondered if the original news was actually right.

Ginny had avoided most of the other students, choosing instead to spend her time alone. She still had Xavier to talk to, but most of the others had been on her case about Harry and she was starting to get angry with them.

' _Why are they taking his side?_ ' she said bitterly to Xavier.

' _They are not necessarily taking his side, Ginny,_ ' replied Xavier as he had several times before.

' _What do you mean? They are attacking me for what I did, when it was his entire fault,_ ' replied Ginny bitterly, her anger increasing.

' _Ginny, we have discussed this. You know perfectly well my views on this,_ ' replied Xavier, while trying to calm her down.

' _Then why are you still talking to me?_ '

' _Ginny, just because you are fighting with Harry doesn't mean that I am going to abandon you. I may not agree with what you have done, but I cannot do that to either of you,_ ' replied Xavier.

Before Ginny could respond, she found herself outside the library. She had no clue why she was there as they had more books at Potter Castle and the Founder's Study than Hogwarts could ever have.

"Well if it isn't the Weasley whore," said an unpleasant voice suddenly.

Ginny spun around and came face to face with Cho Chang. Without thinking, she immediately launched herself at Cho. Moments later, they were both wrestling on the floor taking chunks out of each other.

"You stupid bitch," Cho said as she punched her again in the face.

Ginny continued to punch her, leaving various cuts and marks on her face and body. She didn't even care that Cho wasn't able to defend herself from all the strikes, her anger completely blinding her to what was happening.

"Stop," shouted several of Cho's friends, due to the intensity of the fight none of them attempted to intervene as the girls continued to hit and scratch each other.

Ginny refused as she continued to punch Cho. Seconds later, Harry came around the corner as fast as he could in his weakened state.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" he shouted as he approached her. "This is crazy. You are going to kill her."

Harry had to physically lift Ginny off of Cho to stop the attack. Unfortunately, Ginny put up quite a struggle and ripped open the recently healed wound on his chest. He continued to try and restrain her, but was weakening rapidly. Ginny, realizing that he had loosened his grip, spun around and attacked him instead.

"Oh I should have known you would defend her. I cannot believe I ever loved you," snapped Ginny before punching him hard in the face breaking his nose.

"I am not defending her," replied Harry as he gasped for breath.

"Well, that is not what it looks like to me," replied Ginny.

"I am trying to help you," Harry stated weakly as he continued to bleed from his chest wound.

"I hate you Harry and never want to see you again. We are through," Ginny snapped before disappearing around the corner.

Harry couldn't believe what Ginny had just said. Without thinking, he disappeared in a burst of fire, causing several students to gasp in surprise.

Moments later Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick arrived to treat Cho. They quickly healed her wounds and made sure she was comfortable. Flitwick questioned several witnesses to find out what had happened before addressing Cho and Ginny.

Flitwick told Chang that if he ever heard her calling anyone names like that again, she would be expelled from Hogwarts immediately. He also told Ginny that she needed to report to the Headmaster's office immediately.

Harry arrived back at Potter Castle and collapsed into his bed. Before he could tell Molly what had happened, he was unconscious. Molly immediately summoned Maxim and Sandy to check him over. They were able to heal the wounds, but knew that Harry would be out of commission for several more days.

* * *

The next morning the school was alight with the news of Harry and Ginny's breakup. The article in the Daily Prophet didn't help matters.

 _ **Potter Back On the Market**_

 _ **By Rita Skeeter**_

 _ **It has come to our attention that Harry Potter was caught cheating on Ginevra, resulting in their breakup.**_

 _ **Sources tell us that Ginevra was fighting with one Cho Chang when Harry Potter broke up the fight. When Ginevra realized it was Harry who stopped her, she immediately turned on him accusing him of cheating. She then told him that she hated him and to stay away from her.**_

 _ **So it seems that Miss Chang is now the object of Harry's affections and what a lucky girl she is.**_

 _ **Neither Harry nor Ginevra were available for comment, but Cho Chang had this to say "Harry has finally seen the light. We tried to warn him that Ginevra was only in it for the money and sex. Once she realized that Harry was interested in me, she deliberately attacked me. I hate to think what would have happened if Harry hadn't broken up the fight as she was using Dark Magic against me."**_

 _ **We have not confirmed these reports, but it doesn't bode well for the Heir of Merlin if his wife is indeed using Dark Magic to take out any rivals. Could she have found a spell that caused the supposed Soul Bond in the first place? It does seem convenient that only Ranok confirmed the bond, who is known to be friendly with both of the Potters.**_

 _ **It also doesn't bode well for the recent changes introduced by Harry, including the appointment of a new Minister. Only time will tell if he is under the influence of Dark Magic and being groomed to take over from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.**_

 _ **In related news, we had several reports of Harry Potter disappearing in a large fireball. It is known that Harry has a Phoenix, but those present were not able to confirm the presence of the Phoenix.**_

Molly looked sadly at the paper as she finished reading it. She knew in her heart that the accusations were false, but to see it actually printed and know that the whole Wizarding World was reading the same information hurt her immensely.

She knew Harry had not read the paper yet as he was still unconscious in his room. She knew that people would seize onto this and try and derail everything that had been achieved already.

"Why is she doing this?" asked Molly.

"I wish I knew, Molly," replied Arthur.

"They seemed so happy. I cannot believe she told him that she hates him and doesn't want to see him anymore," she said sadly.

"I am sure she will regret saying that. Although from what I know of Harry, I doubt he will let her statement affect him too much. If she comes back and apologizes, he will take her back."

"I hope so. I don't want to have to choose between them and it feels like we will have to," replied Molly with tears flowing down her face.

"Harry would never do that to us. We just need to concentrate on him getting better."

 _A/N: I know this seems very strange given then Soul Bond and you may ask why didn't Xavier tell Ginny that Harry had been hurt? Well you will have to wait and see._

 _For those wondering why the Elite Guards didn't stop Harry from being hit in the first place, they too had become complacent because of Harry's Merlin Shield that they wronging assumed that he was going to be okay. They won't make that mistake again._


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Two days later, Harry finally woke up, having been fully healed by Maxim and Xavier.

"Morning, Harry," Molly said when she noticed that he was awake.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"When you tried to stop Ginny from fighting, you managed to re-open the wound on your chest. When you got back here, you collapsed onto the bed. I summoned Maxim and Xavier immediately and they were able to heal you again."

"Have you heard from Ginny?"

Harry knew immediately from Molly's reaction that she had not contacted anyone.

"Never mind, I guess she truly hates me," added Harry sadly.

"Just give her time, Harry."

"I was just trying to help her. I can't believe she actually hit me," Harry said as he remembered the events.

"If it helps, the Headmaster was very upset with her. She has to serve detention for a month and has been banned from playing Quidditch for the rest of the year for fighting with another student."

"Great, that just makes it worse. Now her actions are affecting all of Gryffindor," Harry stated sadly.

"Harry, the Chang's sent a letter too, they have already spoken with Cho and have decided that they are not going to pursue any action against Ginny because Cho initiated the fight. They also stated that they are worried because her actions have been so eractic recently and she has been falling behind in her grades."

Harry and Molly chatted for a few more minutes before Maxim appeared in the room.

"Harry, how are you feeling?" asked Maxim while checking him over.

"As well as can be expected, I guess," replied Harry quietly.

"I hate to burden you with more troubles so soon, but Minister Bones contacted me yesterday. She needs some time with you as soon as you are able to discuss what has been happening with the investigations at the ministry," Maxim said reluctantly.

"Thanks. Please can you let her know I will visit with them tomorrow?" Harry stated.

"Certainly, Harry. As far as your injuries, you are fully healed and free to return to Hogwarts," Maxim stated while removing the monitoring charms.

Harry returned to Hogwarts once he had freshened up. He wanted to spend some time in the Founder's Study working on his sword training. Unfortunately, when he got there, he saw the headline on the front page of the Daily Prophet. By the time Harry had finished reading the article, Hogwarts was shaking from the amount of power pouring off him. Even with Fawkes, Xavier and several other Phoenixes trying to calm him down, they could not.

A number of people started to panic, believing that there was an actual earthquake, but were soon reassured that everything would be okay.

"Harry, you need to calm down," said Dumbledore as he attempted to cast several Calming Charms on him.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Did you see what Skeeter wrote? Ginny may be upset with me, but this is completely uncalled for," stated Harry angrily.

"I understand that, Harry, but what good will it do if you react like this? All this started because you didn't want Ginny to go to Azkaban for killing Cho Chang. If you react to this article, it will be even worse," replied Albus calmly.

"You're right, but we have to put a stop to the lies that she is spreading," stated Harry as he slowly calmed down.

"That will come with time, Harry. In the meantime, you need to counter these claims and show that she is lying."

"How can I? They are right as far as Ginny is concerned. She made it very clear that we are no longer together," replied Harry sadly.

"But you can still counter the other claims. All you need to say regarding the situation with Ginny is that you are not going to discuss your personal life and that is the final word," stated Albus.

Harry sat and considered what Albus had said. He knew in his heart that it was the right answer, but still was reluctant to do it. He had never liked facing the press anyway and seeing this article just reinforced his resolve. He also knew that as the Heir of Merlin, he would most likely have to face the press a lot more.

"Okay, can you arrange a press conference for later today?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I will arrange for one after lunch," replied Albus before leaving a much calmer Harry.

Harry was still very upset with everything that had happened and dearly wished he could have Ginny back. The injury during the Death Eater attack on the Ministry had reinforced just how much he missed her. She would have been the first one to come to his side if they hadn't been fighting, but he doubted she even knew what had happened.

* * *

The New Marauders knew immediately what had caused the minor earthquake when they found out that Harry had returned and seen the article by Rita.

The only person who didn't seem to care at all was Ginny.

"What is your problem, Ginny?" Fred said as they discussed the article.

"I don't have a problem," replied Ginny.

"Sure, you don't. You have broken up with your husband because you believe he cheated on you when you know that is completely ridiculous. Then you get yourself into a fight with Cho Chang and thrown off of the Quidditch team for almost killing her," replied Fred angrily.

"I would have thought you of all people would stick up for me," snapped Ginny, just as angrily.

"Why would I stick up for you when you are acting like complete fool?"

"You know what? Potter has obviously blinded all of you too," stated Ginny before disappearing from the room.

"This is getting out of control. Can't she see just how much damage she is doing? I cannot believe that she thinks Harry would cheat on her. He adores her," Hermione said in frustration.

"But what can we do? She refuses to listen to reason and we all know that she is the most powerful witch alive, so attempting to subdue her long enough to talk with Harry is going to be impossible," added George.

"Unfortunately, I think we will just have to wait until she realizes that she is wrong about Harry and then be there to help them pick up the pieces," Luna said.

"I agree," added Neville. "If we try and push her, it could cause more problems."

"Well, as it is Saturday, why don't we go and relax for a while before our last DA meeting?" suggested Fred.

They all agreed and disappeared as couples to relax.

* * *

Dumbledore's Army was going from strength to strength as all the students put all their effort into succeeding at whatever challenge was set for them. Sirius had started to use the easier scenarios from the summer training at Potter Castle to help the most advanced group get some more realistic training.

Sirius also asked Professor Dumbledore to attend the last couple of session secretly so he could observe all the students and how well they were working together. Even Ron had grown out of his hatred of the Slytherins. While he wasn't exactly best friends with any of them, he was at least polite to them and had no problems practicing with them.

Sirius announced at the last session before Christmas that instead of practicing, they were going to have a Christmas Party to celebrate how well they had been doing. The room was soon filled with many types of food and drinks provided by the elves from Hogwarts and Potter Castle. The party lasted late into the evening. No one seemed concerned when they discovered that Albus Dumbledore was there, especially after he conjured a large decorated Christmas Tree for the room.

Just before they ended the evening, Sirius got up to address the group.

"I can't tell you how proud we are of you. Not only have you shown that you are willing to learn, but you have excelled beyond anyone's imagination. Unknown to any of you, Professor Dumbledore has actually been watching the last few sessions we've had together and would like to address you all," Sirius said before moving off to the side.

"Thank you, Professor Black. I would like to congratulate each of you. Over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed a number of things and would like to highlight them for you so that you can remember them over the Christmas Break.

"First, when you are in this room, there is none of the house prejudice that used to be evident around the school all the time. From what I have been told, this has spilled out into your everyday activities. A number of the Professors have commented on it and each comment was positive and supportive of these changes.

"Second, as Professor Black stated, you have all excelled beyond anything we would have expected of you.

"Third, you have all realized that importance of keeping this a complete secret; it was my desire when I saw what Professor Umbridge was doing to ensure that you were well trained. I know that you have been told that Voldemort has not returned. The fact that you have joined this group tells me that you believe that he has returned and it won't be long before he tries to hurt people again.

"Therefore I would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas, but also remind you that you must constantly be aware of what is happening around you. If in doubt, then call for help. The coins that you carry to alert you of these meetings can also be used to send a distress message directly to us. We will send assistance as quickly as we can. The coins will tell us your location, but will only work when you activate them."

The students all wished each other a happy Christmas before disappearing off to their individual common rooms and bed.

Dumbledore and the leaders of DA remained in the room so they could talk.

"I have to congratulate you also; to watch you these last few weeks has really opened my eyes. The students all look up to each of you and respect you. I don't think I have seen such a large group of students work so hard for a teacher in all my years at Hogwarts.

"There will always be the few that strive to do their best," he said, while looking at Hermione.

"And there will be those who want to cause trouble," he looked at the twins.

"But you have every one of the students hanging on your every word. The most amazing thing that I have seen is that you don't even realize just how much respect they have for you. It is all part of who you are and I hope that you never lose that," he said to each of them.

* * *

Harry walked into the Great Hall where the press conference was being held, closely followed by Albus, Ranok and Janakie. They all stood behind the podium with Harry standing forward.

"Thank you all for coming today. This morning some very serious accusations were made in the Daily Prophet that we would like to address immediately.

"Before we address the specific accusations, I will say this only once, so be certain to listen. I will not now or ever in the future discuss anything relating to my personal life, including my relationships with Ginny and any other members of the family, with the press.

"Now as to the accusation that the Soul Bond was established using Dark Magic. If the reporter had bothered to do any research, she would have known that it is impossible to establish a Soul Bond using Dark Magic. In addition to this, Ginny and I are also bonded to a Phoenix and anyone who has researched Phoenixes will know that they will never bond with someone who practices or is capable of practicing Dark Magic.

"Now as to the accusation that Ranok, Leader of the Goblin nation, faked the tests for the Soul Bond. Again, if the reporter had done any research into Soul Bonds, they would have known that it is impossible to fake this test. In addition, implying that Ranok faked the test is a serious insult to the Goblin Nation. I have officially apologized on behalf of the Ministry and, as you can see, Ranok and his mate Janakie have accepted.

"I would also like to address the quotes made by Miss Chang in a couple of recent articles. She has made some serious accusations against my wife, which are both completely unjustified and false. In addition, Miss Chang poisoned me earlier this year, causing me to be in a coma for a number of days. Unfortunately, no charges were brought against Miss Chang because Madam Umbridge deliberately sabotaged the case.

"Finally, if anything of this nature is published in the future and is clearly lying or not researched, then the paper will be taken to court. I expect a full retraction of this morning's article to be published in the paper tomorrow.

"Oh, and before I forget, Auror Shacklebolt, Miss Skeeter is an illegal Animagus."

As Harry had hoped, the confusion as Kingsley attempted to arrest Skeeter allowed him to slip out of the conference without having to answer any questions.

Almost an hour later, the others returned, having answered a number of questions.

"Nice move at the end there," Albus stated as he walked in.

"Thank you," replied Harry with a smile. "Thank you Ranok for coming today. It was good to see you again, Janakie"

"It was good to see you too. I hope this situation with Ginny gets sorted out soon," replied Janakie.

"So do I."

"Let us know if we can do anything," added Ranok before they both returned to Gringotts through the Floo connection in the Founder's Study.

"How are you doing?" Albus asked, once they were alone again.

"I don't know what to do. She refuses to even talk to me," Harry told him sadly.

"Unfortunately I don't have much experience in dealing with these sorts of things, so cannot offer much advice. It may take some time, but I think Ginny will quickly realize that she needs you as much as you need her. Your love is strong and it will survive through this," replied Albus.

"I hope so. I really don't want to spend the rest of my life, wondering why this happened."

* * *

Harry made sure he kept himself busy so that he didn't spend too much time thinking about Ginny.

He had spoken with Dobby so that he could address the House Elf leaders. He had not said why he wanted to meet with them, but Dobby had a good idea what it was.

The leaders had agreed to meet Harry at Hogwarts as they had the largest population with Potter Castle a close second.

Harry waited in the Room of Requirement for the leader to arrive; with him were Ranok, Janakie and Albus.

The leaders arrived at the time arranged and walked in with Dobby.

"Good afternoon, Lord Potter," said Dobby politely. "I am pleased to introduce Greeta, leader of the House Elves; Hedgon, vice leader; and Treople, second vice leader."

Harry greeted each of them formally using standard House Elf custom.

"Thank you for meeting with me today. As the Heir of Merlin, I have resurrected the Council of Magic that existed in the time of Merlin. I would like to extend you an invitation to join the council," announced Harry.

"We would be honour to join the council once again," replied Greeta.

"That is good news. There will be two representatives from each race on the council and eventually equal representation within the Wizengamot."

"It is Elf custom to elect leaders to represent us. Therefore we will immediately call for an election. We will advise you when the two representatives have been chosen," Greeta informed Harry.

"Thank you."

They continued to discuss the membership and everything else that was happening at the present time. Harry also advised them that all the elves that worked at Hogwarts or Potter Castle were free.

* * *

After his meeting with the Elves, Harry flashed directly to the Ministry to meet with Amelia.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," Amelia stated once he sat down.

"Please call me Harry. Mr. Potter was my father," replied Harry with a smile.

"Certainly, Harry, but only in private. Now, down to business, we have found a number of laws that need to be removed. It seems that Fudge was slipping in minor changes for much longer than we ever realized."

Harry was not surprised to learn this and continued to listen as Amelia went on.

"All of them favouring purebloods and some of them very destructive to half-bloods and muggleborns."

"That is not surprising. It amazes me still that the purebloods don't understand just how foolish they were. Voldemort pushes pureblood supremacy and he isn't even one. What they don't realize is that in several generations they will die out if they don't include the others," stated Harry.

"What do you mean?" asked Amelia.

"There are too few pureblood families left. They cannot continue to intermarry as they have in the past."

Harry could tell that Amelia was still confused as to what this really meant.

"Merlin discovered that there is an inherent weakness in Wizarding kind. It is a degenerative disorder that will eventually result in only Squibs being born into the families. The problem was minor in Merlin's time, but now is very aggressive."

"We have to warn them," stated Amelia.

"Most will not listen. Those who are willing to have already married outside of the pureblood lines," replied Harry.

"We still have a responsibility to inform them."

"That is up to you. I will provide whatever evidence you need, but will not be involved in the announcement. As soon as they discover the information came from me, they would refuse to listen any further."

They continued to discuss the state of the Wizarding world late into the evening.

Harry returned to Potter Castle that evening, feeling exhausted and immediately fell to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, _The Daily Prophet_ printed a full page apology for the lies that had been spread by Rita Skeeter. It also reported the that Rita had been arrested and sentenced to five years in Azkaban for a number of crimes, including being an unregistered Animagus.

After breakfast, most of The New Marauders made their way down to the Hogwarts Express to return home for Christmas. Harry had invited them all to Potter Castle earlier in the month and told them that they were still welcome, despite everything that had happened.

Harry had decided that he didn't want to travel with them. Ginny had once again refused to talk to Harry and he wasn't sure he could sit in the same compartment as her for the whole journey.

Hermione had been pestering Ginny for several days to talk to Harry, but she refused stating that it wasn't her fault and if Harry wanted to be with Cho, that was his decision.

Harry had allowed Ron to visit the castle for the Christmas break, but was told from the beginning that the location would remain a secret to him, so he would not be able to tell anyone where he was.

Once they had all settled in, they arrived in the dining room to enjoy the feast that Maxim had put together, after which Harry announced:

"It is officially the Christmas Holidays. If you are staying at Potter Castle, then it is required that you join in the festivities and any discussion of work will result in punishment."

Everyone immediately jumped into the decorating. The castle soon came to life as the house elves joined in. Several hours later, the whole castle, except for the main sitting room, was decorated for Christmas. Unfortunately, even decorating didn't help cheer Harry up.

The rest of the evening, they spent decorating the sitting room, each of them adding their own unique element to make it a truly family occasion. It would have cheered Harry's heart to finally have a family to celebrate with, but unfortunately the most important person wasn't talking to him.

While everyone else was celebrating and having fun, Harry disappeared out of the room before the others could see that he was crying again. Molly, however, realized what was happening and followed him.

She found him several minutes later in the sitting room sobbing on the couch as he held a picture of Ginny and he, sitting together at their favorite viewing spot in the forest. Molly didn't say anything, just held him while he cried with Lily watching them both.

* * *

The next two days were taken up with Christmas shopping. The whole group made several trips to Diagon Alley and other places to get all their presents. Harry also had several gifts planned for their first anniversary, which he had been planning for a while. He decided to get them anyway, even though he wasn't sure at this point if they would even get to celebrate.

The evenings were all taken up with celebrations. On the fourth night at the castle, a very excited Katie Bell and George Weasley arrived having spent the day out somewhere.

"What's going on?" asked Ginny when she saw Katie's face.

She was literally jumping up and down before she announced, "George and I are engaged."

"Congratulations," everyone shouted before jumping out of their seats and hugging or kissing them.

The girls all disappeared into the corner to discuss how George had proposed and wanted all the juicy details, while the guys all stood around patting George on the back.

It wasn't long before the Firewhiskey appeared and was flowing quite freely. Harry was the only one not drinking. He was too depressed and knew it wouldn't help matters if he got drunk. Unfortunately, Ginny didn't seem to care and was knocking them back at an alarming rate.

Eventually everyone disappeared off to bed. Most of the couples could barely walk. Thankfully Maxim took pity on them and made sure they all arrived in the correct rooms.

Harry was sitting watching everyone when he noticed Ginny getting a little too friendly with Neville. Before he could leave, he turned around to see Ginny kissing Neville very passionately. His heart shattered as he watched the scene. Then, as quickly as he could, he disappeared from the room.

Harry arrived in the Founder's study with tears streaming down his face. He spent several hours going over the scene in his head, which just made things worse.

' _Harry, you can't keep watching this,_ ' stated Xavier, who was singing a comforting song.

' _Why? It's obvious that she doesn't care about me anymore,_ ' stated Harry angrily.

' _That's not true and you know it,_ ' replied Xavier calmly.

' _Isn't it? Then why the hell is she snogging someone else?_ ' replied Harry even more angrily.

' _She was drunk and didn't know what she was doing,_ ' replied Xavier, again staying calm.

' _Oh well, that is okay then,_ ' replied Harry sarcastically as power was flowing off him in waves. ' _Maybe I should just get drunk and go off and find someone else to kiss too!_ '

Xavier didn't respond as he was trying to keep Harry's magic from causing too much damage to Hogwarts. Meanwhile, up in Albus' office, an alarm went off alerting him to the magical disturbance in the castle.

' _Harry, you have to calm down,_ ' stated Archimedes, who had just arrived.

Harry immediately settled down and bowed toward Archimedes, ' _I am sorry, My King._ '

' _Harry, you don't need to apologise. You have every right to be angry after what happened this evening. but this isn't the answer._ '

' _Then what is?_ ' stated Harry impolitely, but at this point he didn't really care as his anger returned.

' _You must continue to love her unconditionally and be ready for when she returns,_ ' Archimedes explained.

' _I tried that and she just threw it back in my face._ '

' _Yes and eventually she will return and realize just how much pain she has caused._ '

Harry was still angry, but knew they were telling the truth. By the time Albus arrived to find out what was happening, Harry was much calmer but still had power flowing off him.

* * *

Ginny woke the next morning with a thumping headache. She didn't remember even returning to her room and assumed it must have been Maxim or one of the other elves.

She took a long hot bath, trying to dull the pain but nothing helped. Once she finished dressing, she made her way down to the dining room.

"Good morning," she said quietly as she walked in.

"Is it?" snapped Molly.

"What's wrong?" asked Ginny, suddenly worried that she had missed something.

Molly couldn't believe Ginny would even suggest that she didn't know. Her anger increased immensely and she turned on Ginny.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT'S WRONG? YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW WHAT'S WRONG."

Ginny looked around the room to see every face looking at her angrily.

"LETS SEE. FIRST YOU DECIDE THAT HARRY WAS CHEATING ON YOU AND TOLD HIM THAT YOU NEVER WANTED TO SEE HIM AGAIN. YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ENOUGH TO CHECK UP ON HIM WHEN HE IS BADLY INJURED DURING THE ATTACK ON THE MINISTRY. YOU THEN PROCEED TO COMPLETELY IGNORE HIM IN HIS OWN HOUSE, ACTING AS THOUGH IT WAS HIS FAULT ALL THIS HAPPENED."

Ginny went to respond, but Molly wasn't about to back down.

"THEN YOU DECIDE TO GET COMPLETELY DRUNK AND SNOG SOMEONE ELSE RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM."

Ginny actually looked ashamed when she heard this, but couldn't remember what happened. She didn't want to look at anyone as she knew it was someone at the table. Then a horrible thought struck her and she hoped that it wasn't one of her own brothers.

"BECAUSE OF YOU, HARRY LEFT HIS OWN HOUSE LAST NIGHT AND WE DON'T KNOW WHERE HE HAS GONE.

"I AM ASHAMED TO CALL YOU MY DAUGHTER AT THE MOMENT AND UNTIL YOU SORT YOURSELF OUT I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU," finished Molly before she stormed out of the room, closely followed by Arthur, who didn't even acknowledge Ginny.

Ginny stood there in complete shock as she watched her family and friends all turn their backs on her and leave the room. The only one who stayed was Hermione, but she didn't think it was to comfort her.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I cannot believe you kissed Neville in front of Harry."

Ginny relaxed a little with the knowledge that it wasn't anyone in her family.

"I know you were drunk, but that isn't an excuse. You hurt him very badly last night. He doesn't think anyone saw him leave, but I did and saw just how hurt he was," Hermione told her.

"But he started all this," replied Ginny, using the same crap excuse that she used every time someone tried to talk to her.

She attempted to move away, but Hermione refused to back down this time.

"We both know that is a lie. Harry stopped you from making a terrible mistake that could have landed you in Azkaban. When you attacked Cho you were so angry that you didn't even know what you were doing. Can you honestly tell me that you would have been able to stop if Harry had not stopped you?"

"But Harry defended her after she mocked me," replied Ginny, refusing to back down.

"YES, ONLY BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT YOU ENDING UP IN AZKABAN. DON'T YOU SEE THAT HE DID THIS BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU AND DOESN'T WANT YOU ARRESTED BECAUSE OF A SLUT LIKE HER?" screamed Hermione in frustration.

Ginny finally realized what everyone had been trying to tell her the whole time. Harry didn't defend Cho because he wanted to be with her; he defended Cho so that Ginny wouldn't go to prison.

"Oh, Merlin, what have I done?" cried Ginny as she collapsed.

Hermione managed to catch her before she hit the floor and held her friend as she sobbed. As she continued to cry, she finally removed the block on the bond, only to find something was blocking it still and it wasn't Harry.

"Something's wrong," Ginny stated when she finally stopped crying. "I removed the block on the bond, but something else is blocking it and I know it isn't Harry."

"I think you should find him and try and fix this. You said and did some very hurtful things to him. It could be those that have caused the block," explained Hermione.

Ginny knew she was right, but dreaded facing Harry now after everything she had said and done.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Harry sat in the Founder's Study looking at the ring charm he had brought Ginny for their first anniversary. He had been pacing the room all night, even after the others had managed to calm him down. He just couldn't sleep.

At this point, he didn't even care that tears were flowing down his face. He wasn't expecting anyone to find him.

"Why did this happen?" Harry shouted angrily for the hundredth time.

"I can't answer that," replied Godric, causing Harry to almost curse him. "Sorry I thought you could use the company."

"Thanks, no offense, but it isn't your company I want," replied Harry.

"Well, if it is any comfort, she has finally realized just how stupid she has been. Although I think being dressed down in front of all her family and friends by her mother helped that process," stated Godric with a slight smile.

"Don't worry. I didn't tell anyone where you are."

"This is supposed to be our anniversary and now I don't even know if I can ever trust her again. I can't believe she accused me of cheating on her in front of the other students and then told me she never wanted to see me again. Then to add insult to injury, she kissed one of my best friends in front of me," replied Harry, falling further and further into a deep depression.

"I don't know what to tell you, Harry."

"It doesn't matter anymore. She has obviously made up her mind," replied Harry as he collapsed onto the couch, finally falling asleep for the first time in a few days.

Ginny appeared in the room a while later, knowing that she would need to do a lot of groveling to fix this. She could see the tear stains down his face and the ring charm that was sitting in a box that had fallen out of his hand.

She looked at the ring. She could see an inscription, but it was too small to read clearly. She magnified the inscription and gasped as she read.

 **A single ring that represents our everlasting love and shows that we are one.**

She was so overcome with grief for what she had done that she didn't even realize that Harry had woken up and was watching her examine the ring.

"I believe that is mine," said Harry with a cold toneless voice.

"Harry?" she asked with a quiet hesitant voice.

"Oh so you are talking to me now."

"Please, I know I hurt you very badly, but for what it is worth, I am truly sorry," said Ginny as tears streamed down her face.

"It's a little late for that, isn't it?" replied Harry, making sure to show no emotion.

Ginny looked up at him and was saddened to see the immense hurt in his eyes, but more worrying was the deep sense of betrayal that she felt from him. Even though the bond was not back to full strength, she could sense some strong emotions now she was close to him.

"Harry, I want to fix this. Despite what I said and did, I love you and don't want it to end like this," Ginny said quietly, hoping he would at least give her a chance.

"I love you too, Ginny. I never stopped, but I don't know if we can fix this. You broke your promise to me when you blocked the bond. And then last night, you broke my heart when you kissed Neville," replied Harry sadly.

"I can't take back what I did Harry, but I just need to know that you are willing to try?"

"Of course I am willing to try. I have been since this mess started," snapped Harry a little angrily.

He could see the effect it had on Ginny and immediately felt bad. "Sorry I shouldn't have snapped."

"I deserved it, but thank you," Ginny said as she slowly approached the couch to sit down. She wasn't going to get too close to Harry unless he indicated that it was okay, but at least wanted to sit down.

"Can I ask you a question?" Harry said a few minutes later.

"Anything," replied Ginny immediately.

"Why did you think I cheated on you?"

"Because I thought you were defending Cho's actions. When you broke up the fight, I was so angry that it seemed that you were taking her side," replied Ginny quietly.

"And it never occurred to you that I was trying to protect you?"

"I didn't need to be protected. She was no match for me," replied Ginny a little angrily.

"I wasn't protecting you from her. I know she is no match for you. I was protecting you from being sent to Azkaban. What do you think would have happened if you had killed her like you almost did?"

Ginny's shoulders slumped at Harry's question, but she didn't respond. Until Hermione told her, she hadn't even considered what could have happened.

"I can tell you exactly what would have happened. The papers would have crucified you for what you did and the Wizengamot would have had no choice, but to make an example of you. You would have been humiliated and thrown in Azkaban for life. How do you think that would have made me feel?"

Ginny looked down in shame as she considered what he was saying.

"I let my jealousy control my actions," replied Ginny, after considering what Harry had said.

"Why were you jealous of Cho?" asked Harry in frustration.

"Because she is prettier than me, has more curves," Ginny said with a quiet whisper.

"Oh Gin, you had nothing to be jealous of. I'm sorry if I don't say this enough, but you are far more beautiful than Cho could ever be. And as for the curves, I like all of yours very much and don't care how they compare with anyone else because I will only ever be looking at you," Harry told her firmly.

Ginny smiled for the first time in a week as she heard the truth in what Harry was saying. As she accepted it in her heart, they both felt more of the block on the bond disappear.

They sat quietly for several minutes as they enjoyed the flow of feelings back through the bond. Eventually Harry took Ginny's hand and gently caressed her knuckles. He could feel her starting to relax.

"I've missed you so much. Please promise me if you ever feel jealous in the future, you will talk to me about it before assuming the worst," Harry said as he continued to hold her hand.

"I will try. I have missed you too. I know I haven't acted like it, but I have."

"I know it didn't mean anything, but I must say I really didn't like seeing you kiss another man. If I had walked in on that and not known that you had initiated the kiss, I fear that Neville would be dead now," Harry told her, trying not to upset her.

"Don't worry, Harry, that will never be happening again. I am never getting drunk again and do not want to lose you ever," stated Ginny as she climbed into his lap.

Harry held her close to him, just enjoying the feeling of having her back in his arms.

"I've missed this so much," Harry said as he played with her hair.

"I have too."

"Do you know what today is?" asked.

She thought about it for a few minutes before realizing, "Oh my. I can't believe I forgot our anniversary."

Harry handed her the charm that she had seen earlier, "This is for you."

"Oh Harry, I don't deserve this after what I have put you through," replied Ginny, attempting to give it back.

"Gin, I want you to keep it as a symbol of us getting back together. I know you probably don't want a reminder of what happened, but it will help us both remember what happened and that we are stronger because of it."

"I also have another surprise for you. What do you say to a wedding on August 6 this year?"

"Who for?" asked Ginny before realizing what he was implying. "But we are already married."

"I know but I also know you have dreamed of a beautiful wedding to Mr. Harry Potter since you were six years old," replied Harry with a small laugh at the impressive blush on Ginny's face.

"Oh Harry, thank you," Ginny replied before kissing Harry passionately for the first time in over a week. As they continued to kiss, the remaining blocks on the bond were destroyed, restoring the full bond. It didn't escape their notice that there was something different about the bond- it seemed stronger than it was before.

They both entered their mind to examine the bond from the inside.

' _Does anything look different?_ ' asked Ginny as she looked around their mind.

' _I don't know. It seems the same, but the feelings are stronger,_ ' stated Harry.

As they walked around a little more, they suddenly realized that that door to Voldemort's mind was different.

' _What happened to the door?_ ' asked Ginny in surprise.

' _The link to Tom has been changed,_ ' stated Xavier as he arrived.

' _How?_ ' asked Harry.

' _Harry, we don't fully understand what changed with the link and only time will tell._ '

' _What does this mean?_ ' asked Harry.

' _We don't know yet. It could mean that link to Tom is gone or it could still work. We also don't know what changes on his side have occurred. Next time you enter you must proceed very cautiously._ '

They spent a while, considering what Xavier had said before deciding that they didn't want to think about Tom at the moment and went back to thinking about each other and enjoying each other's company.

Harry took the ring charm and placed it on Ginny's bracelet, adding an unbreakable charm so that it would never fall off or get damaged.

They spent the morning, relaxing on the couch together, not worrying about what was going on in the rest of the world. Today was now about them and celebrating what the last year really meant to each of them.

The shared their favourite memories with each other and how it had affected them.

"Harry, I'm sorry I didn't come to see you when you were injured," Ginny suddenly said as she remembered when her mum had said.

"It's okay. At least I recovered."

"What happened? Why didn't you use the Merlin shield?"

"It didn't work. By the time I realized, the curse was too close and my Elite guard was a second too slow," replied Harry.

"Why didn't it work?"

"Xavier believes it was because you were blocking the bond out of anger," replied Harry quietly, hoping not to upset her again.

Ginny started crying again. Harry held her close sending his love through the bond.

"It doesn't matter now. We are back together and I survived," added Harry.

Maxim served them breakfast and was happy to see them back together.

They continued to relax together, comforting each other and sharing their love.

Several hours later, they enjoyed a lunch that Maxim served for them. They continued to discuss what had happened late into the afternoon before finally agreeing that they wanted to put the whole episode behind them. Afterward Ginny turned to Harry.

"Harry, please will you make love to me?" Ginny asked quietly as they continued to lay with each other.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not wanting her to regret it if she wasn't totally sure.

He was also a little uncertain after everything that happened. but deep down felt that it was what they both needed.

"Yes, I have never been so sure of something since I told you I loved you," she replied confidently.

Harry took Ginny's hand and led her into the bedroom they had been using while at school. After making sure they has protected themselves, Harry slowly explored Ginny's body as he had several times before making sure to concentrate on the sensitive spots that brought her the most pleasure. He didn't rush but took his time, making sure she was fully ready.

She was soon doing the same in return as they took their time. There was no need to rush. They wanted the first time to be perfect and knew if they rushed, it wouldn't be.

Harry slowly entered Ginny for the first time and was awed by how amazing it felt. He stopped when she let out a little cry of pain and waited until she felt comfortable again. They slowly resumed their lovemaking a few moments later, finding a comfortable rhythm.

A few minutes later, they both climaxed at the same time and were completely blown away by the emotions that flowed through the bond as a result.

What neither of them noticed, however, was the red aura that burst from them at the exact moment and reverberated all the way to the Phoenix Realm.

They relaxed into each other's arms and fell asleep a little while later.

They made love several times that afternoon, each time taking it slowly and enjoying the sensations as their shared emotions continued to wash over them.

They both returned to Potter Castle just before dinner. Everyone could clearly see that they had made up and resolved whatever issues had caused the problems in the first place.

The tension in the house was still clearly evident however. Harry and Ginny sat everyone down and they explained what had happened causing most of the tension to lift. Molly was still not happy with Ginny for what she had done but seeing just how happy Harry was again caused her to accept it.

As everyone was leaving the room Harry and Ginny asked Neville to remain behind so they could talk. "Neville, I am sorry for kissing you. I should never have done that," Ginny stated quietly.

"It's okay, I knew you were drunk which is why I pushed you away so quickly. I am just glad Harry saw that you started it," replied Neville nervously.

* * *

Just before they settled down for dinner, Arthur stood and addressed everyone. "It's hard to believe that it has been a year since Harry and Ginny bonded. As we witnessed just this week, it hasn't always been perfect, but we can all see that Harry and Ginny are very much in love. Let us all raise our glasses and celebrate with them. To Harry and Ginny, may you have a long happy marriage."

"Harry and Ginny," everyone said as they raised their glasses.

"And many children," added Fred, who suspected what they had been doing all day, causing both to blush slightly.

"Fredrick Weasley, you are in no position to make comments. We all know what you have been doing. At least they are married," stated Molly, causing both Fred and Hermione to glow with embarrassment and everyone else to burst out laughing.

"Oh Mum, are you doing anything on August 6th next year?" asked Ginny to get the conversation away from everyone's sleeping arrangements.

"Nothing that I am aware of. Why?"

"Oh nothing major. Harry and I will be getting married that day," replied Ginny.

"Oh, that is wonderful. I feared you wouldn't get your dream wedding," replied Molly before hugging her.

"Funny, Harry said something similar," replied Ginny, giving him a dirty look.

The rest of dinner passed smoothly as the whole family was finally back where they should have been and were happy.

Once dinner had finished and everyone had finished talking, they all decided to go their separate ways. When Harry and Ginny got to their room, they found a Potion bottle next to the bed with a note attached.

 _This will help with the soreness, M._

Ginny quickly drank the Potion and sure enough the pain disappeared completely.

They both climbed into bed and spent many hours slowly making love and healing the last of the wounds from their breakup.

* * *

Lucius had finally broken through the protections around the ring Horcrux and returned to Voldemort's hideout to summon a number of the Death Eaters, whom he knew could be trusted with the ritual.

"We have finally retrieved the object that was described in our Lord's journal. The time has come for us to perform the ritual to return him to health so that he can once again lead us to the victory that is coming," announced Lucius once they had gathered.

"What does the ritual involve?" asked one of the other Death Eaters.

"There are two steps. First we need to release the soul segment that is stored in the ring. From our research the following incantation will do that ' _Effrego animus vacuus suus entrapment'_. Then we need to brew a large amount of Strengthening Potion and force feed the whole amount to our Lord as soon as the soul segment has entered his body," Lucius explained.

"Rookwood, can you brew the potion? As soon as it is ready, we will release the soul," ordered Lucius.

Rockwood immediately set to work. The potion would require an hour to brew so the others disappeared to bring their Lord to the chamber. When the potion was ready, Lucius pointed his wand at the ring and then said " _Effrego animus vacuus suus entrapment"_ clearly.

The five Death Eaters watched the ring for several minutes before deciding that the spell had failed. Lucius tried several more times before giving up and returning to the notes they had found.

"According to the notes, if the spell doesn't work, then the object would need to be dissolved in a potion and then combined with the Strengthening Potion," stated Lucius as he read through the notes.

Rockwood reviewed the notes. "We have all these ingredients here, but the potion is going to take several hours to brew."

"Well get on with it then," spat Lucius.

Rookwood wasn't happy taking orders from Lucius, especially as it was now known among the Death Eaters that he had lost all his money.

Four hours later, Rookwood reported that the potion was ready.

"Let's get on with this," stated Lucius impatiently.

Lucius retrieved the ring and dropped it into the potion. They watched for several minutes as it dissolved. Once the ring had completely disappeared, they added the potion to the Strengthening Potion and then immediately force fed it to Tom.

Twenty minutes later, Tom finally woke up and looked around the room.

 _A/N: I couldn't keep them apart for too long. I thought about dragging it out, but it didn't make sense to the rest of the story line._

 _For those who are wondering why it happened at all, you have to remember that Harry and Ginny have been through a lot recently. Now that they had some time to themselves, some of Ginny's fears came to the surface._


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

Harry and Ginny were relaxing in the sitting room, talking with Harry's parents when they felt the call to visit Tom's mind.

' _Well I guess that answers one of our questions,_ ' stated Harry as they excused themselves and disappeared to their suite.

'Yes, but it seems different somehow,' replied Ginny.

They quickly settled onto the bed and summoned Xavier.

' _Xavier, can you please tell Albus that something is happening with the Death Eaters?_ ' Harry announced as they entered their mind and made their way to the door to Tom's mind.

When they entered, the first thing they noticed was how organized it was.

' _Looks like he finally woke up. We need to proceed cautiously as we don't know what has changed with the link,_ ' stated Harry as they continued to look around and proceed to their normal vantage point.

Tom was pacing around his throne room, looking down at the cowering Death Eaters.

"Once again I find myself disappointed in you. Since waking up earlier today, I have learned that it has been five months since the attack on St. Mungo's and it has taken you this long to help me," sneered Voldemort before torturing each Death Eater in turn.

"I also find myself severely disappointed to find that you have not even determined who the mystery person was. Then I learn that Potter is the Heir of not only Gryffindor, but Merlin himself."

"Lucius, please can you explain to me why you have not taken advantage of the disruption that was caused by the changes at the Ministry?" asked Tom in a dangerous voice.

"We tried, my Lord," Lucius offered as he knelt before Tom. "The Goblin scum arrived and helped defend the Ministry."

"Are you telling me that you couldn't defeat a few Goblins?"

"They had a large force of heavily armed Goblin Warriors, my Lord. They also knew a spell that could destroy the Dementors and wiped out all that remained," replied Lucius, knowing it would anger Tom greatly.

"What do you mean wiped out?"

"There are no more Dementors. Every last one has been wiped out," replied Lucius.

"You have failed me for the last time, Lucius. Yes, I know that the Goblins seized all your money too. Let this be a lesson to each of you. I don't accept failure." Tom stated as he pointed his wand menacingly at Lucius.

"I am sorry, my Lord. I am trying…"

"Avada Kedavra," shouted Tom before Lucius could finish his sentence.

Tom looked around at the other Death Eaters, "Bellatrix, where is your useless husband and his worthless brother?"

"They have disappeared, my Lord," she replied quietly.

"Well, I hope, for their sake, they don't return. I have a mission for you: there is an object in your vault that I need," stated Tom.

Tom watched closely and could see the fear and worry in Bellatrix.

" _Legilimens_ ," shouted Tom as he blasted through her weak shields and saw everything that she was trying to hide. As soon as he left her mind, she was also struck down by the Killing Curse.

"Anyone else wish to hide anything from me?" asked Tom angrily as he looked at each of his Death Eaters.

"No, my Lord," they each replied, allowing him access to their minds without any restrictions.

"I can tell you, without any doubt, that Mr. Potter was the mystery man that appeared at St. Mungo's. We have mistakenly underestimated him several times in the past, but never again.

"Now leave me. I will call you soon. I expect each of you to appear immediately when summoned," spat Tom angrily before disappearing from the room.

Harry and Ginny left Tom's mind and reported everything that had happened to those staying at Potter Castle, before making sure that Amelia and Ranok were also advised. Once they had finished briefing everyone, they returned to Potter Castle for the night.

' _I didn't notice anything different with the link to Tom's mind,_ ' stated Ginny once they arrived in their room.

' _No I didn't either. We will have to continue to be cautious to see what this could mean._ '

They then climbed into bed and banished the memories of what Tom had done to the Death Eaters to a far corner of their mind.

* * *

Now that Voldemort was awake again, Harry decided it was time to release the information about his heritage so that people would not fear him so much. Thankfully with the changes at the Prophet, due to the arrest of Rita Skeeter, they knew the news would be published as reported.

 _ **Heritage of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Revealed**_

 _ **By Felix Grubbs**_

 _ **Last night the Daily Prophet received the following information regarding He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. After verifying the information with the Goblin nation, we are pleased to publish the same information.**_

 _ **Lord Voldemort, as he calls himself, was born Tom Marvolo Riddle, Jr., the son of Merope Gaunt, who was believed to be a Squib, and Tom Riddle, Sr., a well respected Muggle. It is known that Merope used a Love Potion on Tom Riddle, Sr. so that he would marry her. Riddle abandoned Merope after she became pregnant and allowed the love potion to wear off.**_

 _ **Merope died shortly after giving birth to Tom, Jr., who grew up in a Muggle orphanage until he was invited to Hogwarts. Ashamed of his heritage, Tom changed his name to an anagram "I am Lord Voldemort".**_

 _ **It may surprise a number of people to learn that the most feared Dark Wizard since Grindelwald, who champions the cause of pureblood supremacy, is in fact a half-blood.**_

 _ **A copy of the Goblin identification parchment that proves the information provided is authentic has been included in the paper.**_

Several Death Eaters were shocked to see that the man they had followed for many years was actually a half-blood wizard. However, most of them decided that regardless of that, he was their best hope to purge the Wizarding World of undesirable elements.

Several Death Eaters questioned Voldemort directly and quickly learned with their lives not to do that.

Tom was livid. He knew it would be harder to recruit people to his cause now and, to make matters worse, he was rapidly running out of people he could trust. Realizing that he would have to find other allies soon, Tom quickly disappeared again to start recruiting.

* * *

Christmas Eve was spent visiting Hermione's parents. Because Hermione and Fred were now promised to each other, Fred and the family had been welcomed with open arms by John and Jane Granger. Unfortunately, as the Grangers were not able to protect their minds, they could not spend time at Potter Castle while Voldemort was still alive, so they agreed to visit the Grangers as a whole family.

To avoid any unwanted attention, Harry had contacted the Grangers and asked if he could transport all of them directly to their house. This would stop anyone from spotting them arrive, which would be hard to explain for such a large group without any cars.

John had agreed happily as he was still getting used to everything and didn't want to have to answer questions from his neighbours.

They all arrived and were soon enjoying a Christmas Eve dinner of turkey, roast potatoes, stuffing, and numerous types of vegetables. Ron was soon in his element as he filled his plate full of food and proceeded to shovel it into his mouth. Everyone else was trying to slow him down, but it wasn't working. As the dinner progressed, the talk focused on what everyone wanted to do for Christmas and what presents they would like.

Once the main course had been cleared away, Jane walked out of the kitchen, holding a large plate with a flame covered Christmas pudding. None of the Weasleys had seen anything like this from a Muggle before and Arthur was immediately bombarding her with questions about it.

"Arthur Weasley, stop harassing her and let her serve dessert," Molly said dangerously.

Arthur immediately settled down and looked sheepishly down at his plate. Everyone could tell that he would be asking again later.

Once dessert was served, everyone once again settled down and enjoyed themselves. Jane also put Arthur out of his misery by answering his questions quietly.

Harry noted later that Ron spent most of the evening jealously watching Fred and Hermione together. Ron knew it was his own fault and wasn't about to make another mistake, like the one that cost him so much last time.

The Grangers introduced them to several Muggle games, which were complete lost on them. Charades had been the most entertaining of them. Once they all got the general idea of the game, everyone started to get very competitive and the game went downhill from there.

At the end of the evening, everyone had spent an enjoyable time celebrating Christmas together and had exchanged presents. As they were leaving, Harry felt that something was wrong. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he wasn't going to take any risks.

Ginny had sensed the same thing and they both changed into their Phoenix forms and started scanning the local area to determine what was out there. They still found that their senses were stronger when in the actual form, although they could still scan in their human form.

Harry detected several Death Eaters close to the house. It seemed from the numbers that they had not been expecting any resistance.

"It appears that Tom is already on the move. We just detected a few Death Eaters. They will not be any problem, but we are going to have to check the houses of our other friends tonight," explained Harry.

"Fred, come with me. There are two Death Eaters hiding in the backyard. George, you go with Ginny. We will flash you directly behind them," Harry directed as they prepared the attack.

"Everyone else remains in here to protect the Grangers and the house," Harry said.

As soon as Harry had finished talking, they all leapt into action. Harry disappeared with Fred and reappeared silently behind the two Death Eaters, who were quickly disabled and their Portkeys removed. At the same time, Ginny had disappeared with George and they had dealt with the other two Death Eaters, just as efficiently.

The Death Eaters had not even had a chance to get off a single spell during the attack.

Harry and Ginny quickly disappeared after checking that everyone was okay to check their friend's houses. As they had feared, a small ground force was found at Longbottom Manor, The Burrow, at Katie's house and finally Luna's. They quickly and quietly dealt with each group with equal efficiency. The only difference being that the Death Eaters were Portkeyed to Azkaban. Harry had already alerted Ranok that there would be new guests arriving, who needed to be dealt with properly in the traditional Goblin way.

Harry and Ginny returned to the Granger's house to find the Granger parents' bags packed. They could not risk staying at the house now and needed to find somewhere safe to live until this was all over.

Harry and Ginny quickly agreed to allow them to stay at Potter Castle and would transport them shortly.

"We found several more groups this evening. It appears they were planning to attack all those involved in The New Marauders," explained Harry.

"We found this while searching this Death Eater," replied George.

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _You may have injured me last time, but I will not stop until you have been destroyed. Once you and all the creatures that have united with you have been crushed, I will once again take my rightful place. I know it was you that released the information about me. It doesn't matter. Those who are loyal to me don't care. As a demonstration of our intent and power, your stupid Mudblood friend's parents have been taught a lesson, which your other friends will soon learn._

 _Lord Voldemort_

Harry suspected it was going to be something like this. What concerned him more was how much they knew. It was clear they knew who their main friends were, but that wasn't hard as they would meet outside by the lake every morning.

They all returned to Potter Castle with Hermione's parents. As soon as they arrived, Harry greeted them formally and allowed Molly to take them on the tour of the castle. Harry did have to advise them that because of the danger they were now in, they would basically have to give up their dental practice until Tom had been dealt with properly.

Later that evening, Harry and Ginny retired to their room to relax before going to bed.

' _I don't understand why we didn't know about the attacks before they happened,_ ' stated Ginny as she ran a bath.

' _I know and I don't like this at all. Do you think Tom knows we have access to his mind and used another method to communicate with them?_ '

' _I don't know and don't want to think about him until after Christmas,_ ' answered Ginny before stripping off and inviting Harry to join her.

They spent several hours relaxing in the bath. It wasn't long before they were slowly making love in the warm water.

* * *

Harry woke early on Christmas morning. For the first time in his life, he would be able to celebrate Christmas in his own house with family and friends and was too excited to sleep.

"Wake up, Gin. It's Christmas morning," Harry said excitedly as he bounced up and down on the bed like a five year old.

"What time is it?" moaned Ginny when she finally opened her eyes.

"Five," replied Harry happily as he presented her with a large bouquet of Fire Roses.

"Harry, these are lovely but can we please get some more sleep? I am rather tired from last night," Ginny said sleepily as she started to fall asleep again.

Harry reluctantly laid back down. He was too excited to sleep so he just lay on the bed, thinking about all the previous Christmases and having his excitement crushed by the Dursleys when they forced him to serve them without any presents or acknowledgement that he even deserved anything.

Ginny sensed Harry's sadness and saw the memories that he was watching.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I forgot this is your first real Christmas," Ginny said as she got up and hugged him.

Once they were both dressed, they made their way down to the dining room for breakfast and were not too surprised to see most of the others already awake.

"Happy Christmas," they all shouted when Harry walked into the room.

After breakfast the castle was full of people: all the Weasleys and their partners, Hermione's parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Augusta Longbottom, Neville, Luna, Albus and Minerva, who had been invited as Albus had finally admitted his feelings to her. Harry had also insisted that all the house elves be there when they opened presents as he felt they were part of the family too, much to Hermione's delight.

They spent the whole morning opening presents. Molly, despite being injured, had managed to create a knitted sweater for everyone, including all the adults which everyone thanked her for. They all wore them with pride. The twins were messing around as usual when Molly suddenly said 'Tame the Twins'. Everyone just looked at her with confusion until Fred yelled. They all spun around to see that the sweater arms had wrapped around the twins, acting like a straitjacket.

The room erupted into laugher when they saw that the twins had been pranked by their own mother. In response to what had happened, they both got on their knees in front of Molly and started bowing to her feet, saying "We are not worthy."

Molly smiled sweetly at them before turning to Hermione and Katie and whispering something to them. Both twins suddenly looked very worried when they saw the large smiles that had appeared on the girls' faces as Molly continued to talk.

The girls eventually relented and released the twins, but not before telling them they would not be able to take the sweaters off for the rest of the day and if they didn't behave, they would reactivate them. Hermione then whispered something in Fred's ear that caused the traditional Weasley blush to appear.

Harry brought Arthur a large Lego robot set for Christmas. No one heard another word out of him after that as he spent the whole day building various models and controlling them with the remote control. He even experimented with Magic on them, much to everyone's amusement.

Harry gave Ginny a photo album that he had created. It had several sections in it and had pictures from their time together. Harry told her that it would magically expand as they added more photos to it and that he was looking forward to adding many more, including pictures of their children.

' _Thank you. I don't deserve this after what I did to you,_ ' Ginny said quietly.

' _Gin, I have forgiven you for that and don't want to ever hear about it again. I have every intention of fulfilling that promise and it would only ever be with you,_ ' replied Harry. Harry then flooded the bond with all his love and quite a number of illicit thoughts, which immediately caused Ginny to blush, much to everyone's amusement.

' _Thank you_ ,' replied Ginny with a smile, not caring for once how red she was.

He also told her that he had some additional presents, but they were hidden in their room. She could tell from the way he acted that she would have been mortified if he had allowed her to open them in front of everyone.

Ginny gave Harry a handmade scarf and hat to keep him warm and another painting, this time of Harry in some of his Animagus forms.

They had both come to the conclusion recently that small handmade gifts were much more meaningful than getting extravagant gifts that would hardly ever be used.

They had a light lunch to get them through until dinner and planned to spend the afternoon relaxing. After several hours of talking, they decided to go outside and enjoy the snow. A large storm had hit overnight leaving a deep covering of fresh snow around the castle.

They quickly broke into several teams and a large snowball fight broke out. To everyone's surprise, Dumbledore was one of the most active participants in the fight and was enchanting the snowballs to follow people until they hit them. This caused Harry and Ginny to do the same against him and soon they had a very large number of snowballs racing around the field until the magic wore off.

A little later, Hermione asked Harry to flash her to the top of a nearby hill. She then conjured a sled and set off down the hill very quickly, screaming all the way. It wasn't long before they were all joining in. As they continued, they were trying different sled designs to see which was the fastest.

At one point, Fred managed to hit small bump in the snow, which caused his sled to launch into the air landing 100 feet further down with Fred still holding on tightly. Of course he thought this was absolutely brilliant as did several of the others. It wasn't long before Albus and Harry were conjuring various jumps on the hill. Soon it became a competition to see who could go the furthest on each jump.

Arthur and Molly were sitting on the patio watching the others playing in the snow, Molly deep in thought.

"Knut for your thoughts," said Arthur as he watched Molly staring.

"I don't think I have ever seen Ginny or Harry so happy as right now. I am just glad that Ginny came to her senses and Harry forgave her," she said, while still staring off into the distance.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" replied Arthur as he watched them too. "It's times like these that we have to remember, especially with the war."

"At least they have each other. I remember when we were not much older than they are now," Molly remembered with a dreamy look on her face.

"Yes, I remember," replied Arthur, smiling fondly. "I think that is why it wasn't such a surprise when we found out. I know he will do everything he can to protect her as he has already shown several times."

"I don't like that they are the ones that have to end this war. It's just so unfair," Molly said a few minutes later as they both continued to watch the sled races.

"War's never fair, as we know personally. However I have a very good feeling about the outcome of this one. I just hope we are right," replied Arthur as he comforted Molly.

* * *

Dinner that evening was a noisy affair as they talked about the activities of the afternoon. To everyone's amusement it was Dumbledore who won the longest jump competition, although everyone was convinced he cheated. Katie and Hermione won the two person sled race, which the twins protested the result. They had been winning until the girls activated the twins' sweaters and caused them to lose control of the sled.

After dinner, Katie and George approached Harry and Ginny and asked if they could have their wedding at Potter Castle on New Year's Day. They immediately agreed as long as Arthur and Molly were okay with it. George and Katie were thrilled and disappeared to discuss it with his parents.

They returned a while later, saying that Arthur and Molly had agreed to the wedding, and they had asked Professor Dumbledore if he could perform the service for them. Harry told them that the elves would help prepare whatever they needed. The only restriction was they wouldn't be able to invite anyone else to the castle. They were happy with that condition and explained that they would have a small celebration when they got back to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore had explained that there were a small number of married student quarters available, but that they had not been used in a long time. George and Katie would be able to move into one of those in Gryffindor Tower when they got back. He also explained that he would announce the marriage during the feast when they returned to the school.

Once the plan had been finalized, they made the announcement to everyone else, causing quite a bit of excitement.

The girls immediately started planning out the ceremony and soon disappeared to Molly's room to discuss it further. Unfortunately George didn't get away fast enough and was dragged off with them, much to the amusement of the others.

Harry disappeared at the same time and informed Maxim to prepare the formal ballroom for the ceremony.

* * *

Tom was pacing around his throne room, having just tortured each of the Death Eaters that had turned up when he summoned them.

"I sent twenty five Death Eaters out yesterday and so far none of them have returned. There has been no news of the victims of the attacks," Tom hissed.

"Master, we have attempted to find out what happened, but there has been no news," offered a Death Eater quietly.

"How can there be no news?"

"We visited each of the houses and there was no damage, Master. We cannot locate any of the Death Eaters. They have completely disappeared," the Death Eater replied.

"I want answers and soon. There must be a spy. If I find out who it is, they will regret ever hearing the name Voldemort," Tom told them before torturing each of them again to remind them.

"Rockwood, there is a prophecy in the Department of Mysteries that I need you to retrieve. It is the key to unlocking Potter's power and finally defeating him," Tom stated.

"I will look into it, my Lord."

"Do not fail me. You know what the price of failure is," snapped Tom before dismissing him.

Rockwood left immediately, knowing that failure was not an option. He also knew that it was impossible to remove a prophecy unless you were specifically mentioned, but didn't want to bring that up yet, knowing that Voldemort would punish him even if it was the truth.

* * *

Harry and Ginny finally made it back to their room after a long but fun-filled day.

"Thank you for the present," Ginny said as they cuddled on the bed.

"You don't have to thank me. I look forward to the day when we can start filling the back of the album," replied Harry, while placing slow kisses on the neck.

"Hmm, that feels good," replied Ginny, feeling suddenly wide awake again.

"Oh, that reminds me. Your other presents are in the bathroom." Harry told her, while gently pushing her off the bed towards the bathroom.

Five minutes later, Ginny returned wearing a long flowing silk nightdress.

"These are amazing," Ginny told him as she gently turned on the spot to allow him to admire the outfit.

"Wow, you look absolutely stunning," Harry told her as he got up and kissed her.

He slowly peeled the nightdress off her shoulders and allowed it to fall to the floor.

' _Hmm, I knew those would look good on you,_ ' Harry said as he admired the silk underwear he had got her.

' _You have very good taste, Mr. Potter,_ " replied Ginny as she slowly removed them.

Ginny slowly pulled Harry towards the bed before climbing on with him and slowing showing him just how much she appreciated the gifts.

They both fell asleep early the next morning completely exhausted, but very happy.

* * *

Harry and Ginny woke early on Boxing Day morning. They had finally arranged to meet with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. While they were more accepting of Harry's magic since the trial, Harry and Ginny didn't want to just flash to their house, so decided instead to flash to the forest nearby and walk.

Harry and Ginny arrived in the woods, having surveyed the surrounding area to ensure no one was present. They quickly transformed and made their way to his aunt's house.

They approached the front door and Harry rang the doorbell. A few seconds later Petunia answered.

"Good morning, Harry, Ginny," Petunia said as she invited them in.

"Good morning," they both replied as they entered the house.

Harry was slightly overwhelmed by the memories of the treatment he received while living at the house. He had not returned since before they had bonded. Ginny sent her love through the bond, helping him to push the memories to the side.

"Thank you for coming," Petunia said as she showed them into the living room. Dudley was sitting on the couch next to a young lady Harry had never seen before. Harry quickly scanned her to be certain there was no threat and was rather shocked to see that she was a witch. The other thing that they noticed was how good Dudley looked. He had lost a lot of weight and was obviously working out.

"Hi, Dudley. Wow, you are looking good," Harry said as he held out his hand.

"Hi, Harry. Thank you," Dudley replied as he got up and hugged Harry, much to his surprise.

"Harry, this is my girlfriend, Natalie Samuels," Dudley said.

"Hello, Natalie. This is my wife Ginny," Harry replied before shaking her hand.

The five of them sat quietly for several minutes. No one really sure what they should say. Each could feel the tension in the air. Harry eventually broke the silence.

"Aunt Petunia, how have you been?" asked Harry.

"I am well, thank you, Harry. It was a little difficult in the beginning, but we soon adjusted," replied Petunia with a smile.

"We were rather surprised when the bank contacted us to tell us the mortgage had been paid off," added Petunia afterwards.

"I asked Bill to take care of that for you. You were willing to sacrifice your future for me. It was the least I could do," replied Harry honestly.

"We didn't deserve that, but are very thankful as we would have been kicked out already if you hadn't," Petunia told him.

Harry and Petunia continued to talk about the house and everything that had happened since. She told him that Vernon had written to her, asking why she had betrayed him. She never bothered writing back and refused to accept any letters from the prison.

In the corner of the room, the two girls hit it off immediately. Natalie was indeed a witch, who was attending Beauxbatons because her parents felt Hogwarts wasn't safe enough. They had a lot in common and were enjoying their time together.

Aunt Petunia and the girls disappeared to finish cooking dinner, leaving Harry and Dudley to talk.

"So, Dudley, how has life been since the trial?" asked Harry.

"Not bad, thanks. Mum put me on a diet, which has worked out really well. I met Natalie before she returned to her school and we wrote. I was a little surprised to find out she was a witch, but in the end realized that it really didn't matter," Dudley told him.

"Who would have thought that you would have fallen for a witch?" joked Harry kindly.

"I know I treated you badly when you were living here, but I really was doing it to impress Father. I wish I had realized just how much of a jerk he really was," replied Dudley.

"Well it is over now. The important thing is you stood up when it counted, despite what could have happened to you. Although your crimes were not as bad as your parents, you could still have spent time in prison if charges had been pressed. I am just grateful that you learned your lesson," Harry told him.

"Just make sure you never fall back into that old pattern. If things work out with Natalie, then it is very likely that any children you have will be magical," Harry added.

"I don't think we are close to that," replied Dudley with a slight laugh.

"You never know what will happen. Just be good to her. I can see she really likes you," replied Harry.

"Thanks," Dudley told him as he looked slightly embarrassed.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the ladies were all talking about Harry and Dudley.

"You and Harry seem so happy," Natalie said as she peeled the potatoes by hand.

"We are. Harry makes me feel like I am the only person who matters in the world," replied Ginny with a smile.

"I wish Dudley was like that," replied Natalie a little sadly.

"I am sure if you give it time, he will be. He has changed a lot from the boy that Harry knew growing up. The fact that he is even dating you is testament to that as they hated anything to do with wizards and treated Harry very badly," Ginny told her.

"Dudley told me about how they had treated Harry. I was very close to dumping him when I heard about it, but he told me what they did at the trial and I could see just how sorry he was," Natalie told her.

"I had a long talk with Petunia as well. They were both very lucky that I am underage or they would have felt the wrath of my hexes when they told me what they had done," continued Natalie.

They continued talking as they finished preparing dinner and before long, everything was ready to be served.

Dinner passed quickly as everyone enjoyed the food and talked quietly. After dinner, they exchanged gifts and spent the afternoon playing various games. Dudley found wizard's chess very entertaining while Harry and Ginny enjoyed playing his computer games.

After a light supper, Harry promised to keep in contact with them. He also told Aunt Petunia that there was someone that he would like her to meet at some point, but didn't elaborate further on that. He promised to arrange a meeting during the Easter holidays.

Ginny promised to keep in contact with Natalie. She could tell that despite her and Dudley's protests, they both cared for each other and it was very likely that they would be married one day. With that in mind, Ginny wanted to spend some time getting to know her better.

* * *

Harry and Ginny returned to Potter Castle and disappeared to the sitting room.

"Good evening," Lily said as he sat down.

"Evening," replied Harry as he pulled Ginny into his lap.

"What brings you here this evening?" asked Lily as she watched the young couple snuggle in the chair.

"We just spent the day with Aunt Petunia and Dudley," Harry told her watching carefully for her response.

"WHY WOULD YOU SPEND TIME WITH THEM?" shouted Lily, looking livid.

"They have changed, Mum. We were rather shocked to see that not only has Dudley lost a lot of weight, but he is also dating a witch," Harry told her.

Lily didn't look much happier, but didn't say anything else. Harry proceeded to tell her about their day and everything that happened while they were together.

Before leaving for the evening, Harry turned again to his mum and asked "I think you should meet her."

"I am not sure that is a good idea, Harry. I know you have forgiven her, but I am not sure that I can."

"As I said to Dudley, they may have treated me badly for a long time, but they did stand up for me when it really counted," Harry told her.

"I just think that you all need to resolve this. If Dudley does end up marrying Natalie in the future, then I can see them spending some time with us and they are going to see you then," added Harry.

"I'll think about it, Harry."

"That's all I am asking."

* * *

The next couple of days disappeared very quickly as everyone focused on getting ready for George and Katie's wedding. Molly was in her element and Hermione had everything planned to the second.

Harry and Ginny decided that they were not needed any longer for the planning as they had provided the venue and fifty house-elves to decorate and cater the food.

They disappeared off to Harry's private study so they could start preparing the fake prophecy. They had put it off since September and knew that they would need to ensure it was ready, especially after the failed Death Eater attacks on Christmas eve. They had also been advised that someone had been sniffing around the Ministry, trying to find out details of how to get into the Department of Mysteries.

"So, Mrs. Sexy Potter," Harry said as they sat at the desk.

"Mr. Potter, get your mind back on the task at hand," replied Ginny, pretending to be offended.

"I know where I would like to have my hands at the moment," replied Harry before reaching out to grab her. She playfully slapped away his hands before moving just out of reach.

"If you focus on the completing the prophecy, then we can enjoy a reward later," promised Ginny as she blew him a kiss.

"Oh, like I can concentrate on the prophecy now," replied Harry before laughing.

Ginny giggled at his expression before taking out some parchment to make notes.

"So what are we going to say then?" asked Ginny, as she wrote out the first part of the prophecy that they knew Voldemort was aware of.

"Whatever we use, I think it should be Muggle in origin. What better way to insult him than to use Muggle phrases?" suggested Harry.

Ginny's eyes lit up at the suggestion. The only problem was she really didn't know much about Muggles, other than what she had learned from Harry's memories.

They spent most of the afternoon researching when Harry came across an old English dictionary.

"Gin, I think I have found something." He had been looking up various words when he came across an entry for the word 'know' that related to having sex.

She looked at it and was confused until she saw what he was thinking.

"That's disgusting, Potter," she said before bursting into laughter.

Harry grabbed the parchment and added **The Dark Lord shall know his supporters, but none will be satisfied…**

"We need to add some more," Harry said afterwards.

Ginny grabbed the quill and wrote down **He shall share his seed with them, but none shall succeed…**

Harry looked confused for a second before realizing what she meant. He almost threw up at the thought.

"That is totally disgusting."

"Why thank you, Mr. Potter," replied Ginny with a laugh.

"And you had the cheek to say my contribution was disgusting," added Harry.

"We should add something about what will happen to him in the end," suggested Ginny.

They thought about it further and finally added **The Dark Lord shall meet the same fate as those he has known…**

They read it over several times and couldn't think of anything else to add, so settled for what they already had.

They had already researched how the prophecy containers worked and so knew how to record it. Ginny altered her voice to sound like the original prophecy as she had seen it in Dumbledore's memory.

"Are you ready?" asked Harry as he finished setting up.

"Yes," replied Ginny before kissing Harry.

Harry started the recording and indicated to Ginny to start. She read out the prophecy slowly in a voice that sounded very much like Professor Trelawney. As soon as Harry stopped the recording, Ginny finally relaxed and they listened to the playback.

"Perfect. Now we just need to switch them," Harry stated as she put the globe into a box for safety.

Deciding that there was no time like the present, they flashed directly to the Prophecy Room in the Department of Mysteries. Xavier had already determined the location of the Prophecy, so they knew exactly where they needed to arrive.

Using their Phoenix Magic, they checked to make sure that no one was nearby before appearing next to the shelf containing the prophecy. Harry quickly located the actual prophecy on the shelf. He carefully picked it up and removed the tag so they could place it back on the fake one.

Harry pulled out the fake prophecy and placed the tag on it so they could avoid confusing them. He then passed them both to Ginny so that he could scan the original and transfer any magical enhancement on it to the fake, including the one that allowed only Tom or himself to touch it. They carefully placed the fake prophecy on the shelf, making sure to not disturb anything else so that no one would know it had been tampered with. Harry then sprinkled dust over the shelf just in case someone looked closely.

They returned to Potter Castle with the original prophecy and placed it securely in Harry's study. They noticed as they did that the castle also added its own protections.

By the time they had returned, it was dinner time so they both headed down to meet the others. Most of the guests had left to spend time with others, leaving only the New Marauders, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Dumbledore in the castle.

"Good evening," Harry said as he arrived for dinner.

"Evening, Harry. You and Ginny look very pleased with yourselves," replied Dumbledore as they sat down still holding hands.

"We created the fake prophecy today and swapped it with the real one," replied Harry as he filled Ginny and his plate with food.

"Excellent news. I take it the original is secure," replied Dumbledore, looking very happy with the news.

"Yes, Sir, it is very secure," replied Harry. who gave a look that indicated that he was not going to offer any further information about its location.

"Do you mind me asking what the fake one says?" asked Dumbledore.

"No, I don't mind you asking," replied Harry with a smirk.

"Very funny," replied Dumbledore with a large smile.

Harry disappeared to get his Pensieve so that they could see the memory of the new prophecy. He returned moments later and placed it in the middle of the table with the new memory already present. After tapping the Pensieve twice, they could all hear the prophecy clearly.

 **The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, Born as the seventh month dies... the Dark Lord shall know his supporters but none will be satisfied... He shall share his seed with them but none shall succeed... The Dark Lord shall meet the same fate as those he has known… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...**

As the prophecy ended, all the others except Hermione looked thoroughly confused by what they had added, which was exactly what Harry and Ginny hoped would happen. Hermione was deep in thought, trying to work out what the rest of it meant. Suddenly she burst out laughing and looked at Harry.

"That is disgusting," she finally said.

"That's exactly what Harry said too," laughed Ginny. All the others looked completely confused still.

"Would one of you please explain what the bloody hell it means?" asked Fred, earning him a slap from Hermione for his language.

Hermione then proceeded to tell everyone the translated prophecy. Harry was amused to see the looks of absolute disgust that passed over the faces of everyone around the table at hearing it. A few moments later they all burst into laughter.

"Oh, to be a fly on the wall when he hears that," Sirius said.

"I wouldn't want to be the Death Eater that explains the real meaning," added Tonks, her hair still changing color.

"Do you really think they are going to find out?" asked Harry, looking amused.

"What do you mean?" asked Remus.

"Think about it. None of you knew what it really meant except Hermione and that was because she is Muggleborn. If anyone does find out what it means they would be completely stupid to tell Tom. Oh, just a minute, we _are_ talking about Death Eaters," replied Harry, while laughing at his own joke.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

George woke up the morning of his wedding, wondering why someone had hit him over the head with a Bludger repeatedly the night before. He looked around the room and promptly rushed into the bathroom to throw up.

"What the bloody hell happened last night?" he moaned to himself as he walked back into the bedroom.

"Don't you remember?" said Harry in a far too cheerful voice.

"Please tell me I didn't do anything bad," replied George, looking nervous. By this time, most of the other boys had woken up from their stupor.

"Well, it depends how you look at it," said Harry.

George suddenly looked very nervous and worried. "What the bloody hell does that mean?"

"Well, I am sure the Veela you were with last night would say you didn't do too badly at all. However I have a feeling that Katie may see it rather differently," said Harry very seriously.

"Merlin's pants, what did I do?" said George quietly.

Harry sat there for several minutes, looking down trying to stop himself from laughing. It didn't help that Ginny had collapsed in their room in fits of laughter, once she realized what Harry had done.

"Come on, Potter, you can't just say that," pleaded George.

"Nothing, but the look on your face was priceless," said Harry before he himself collapsed from laughter with the rest of the guys in the room.

' _That was mean, Potter,_ ' said Ginny as she slowly recovered.

' _Sorry, baby,_ ' replied Harry.

' _Next time, make sure I am there before you do it. I would have loved to see that expression firsthand,_ ' replied Ginny happily.

' _Yes, dear,_ ' replied Harry.

"I am going to kill you, Potter," shouted George as he launched towards him. Unfortunately for George, Harry flashed out of the way so he missed and landed in a very compromising position on top of Neville. To make matters worse, Harry had reappeared in the room with a camera and taken a picture.

"This should make for some interesting 'blackmail'," Harry said as he left the room laughing.

The others slowly started moving back to their rooms to prepare for the wedding, each vowing never to drink that much again.

* * *

Just before the wedding, Neville approached Harry and asked if he could talk to him in private.

"What's wrong?" asked Harry when they were in his study.

"I was thinking about what happened just before Christmas and I never apologised for my behaviour that night. You have been a great friend and I betrayed you," Neville said without looking up.

"Neville, I will admit when I first saw what happened, I was very angry with both of you. However, when I saw the memories from Ginny's perspective, I knew that you pushed her away," replied Harry calmly.

Harry could tell that Neville was still upset by his behaviour, but that he was also hiding something.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

Neville knew he would have to tell Harry everything. He was just worried what his reaction would be.

"I wasn't totally innocent in what happened!" exclaimed Neville sadly.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, getting up from his desk and pacing.

"I knew she was very drunk, but continued to give her drinks when she asked for them," replied Neville.

"For a minute, I thought that you were implying there was more to the kiss?"

"No, but it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't allowed her to have so many drinks," replied Neville, feeling slightly less nervous.

"Maybe, but there were plenty of other people, including myself in the room that could have stopped her and we didn't either. As far as I am concerned, this whole incident is over and done with."

"Thank you," replied Neville before taking his leave.

Harry sat contemplating what Neville had said. He was pleased that his friend had made the effort to apologise, even if it wasn't really necessary.

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the main ballroom for the wedding. The room had been transformed to look just like the Great Hall had at last year's Yule Ball. Katie had fallen in love with the room as soon as she saw it and knew then that she would want her wedding in a similar setting.

Albus Dumbledore was standing on the main platform at the front of the room, his robes matching with the décor of the room. To Dumbledore's left stood a very nervous George with his best man and twin, Fred.

Everyone else was seated, waiting for Hermione and Katie to walk in. Harry had once again invited the house elves to join in the wedding.

The music started and Hermione walked down the aisle wearing a long flowing yellow dress that looked stunning on her. Fred couldn't take his eyes off her as she walked down toward them. 'This will be us one day', he thought to himself before smiling.

As Hermione took her place on the platform, all eyes returned to the back of the room as Katie walked in on the arm of Arthur. She had a beautiful white dress that flowed behind her as she walked; the veil that once belonged to Molly completed the stunning outfit.

Katie was sitting in her room, having just finished the final fitting of her dress when Molly walked in.

"Katie, I know things haven't been easy for you since the summer because of everything that happened with your parents. I know that you love George very much and he loves you the same way.

"I know that I haven't known you very long, but I already think of you as one of my own children and in a few days we will be officially related. I know that traditionally your mum would give you the veil. I hope you won't think I am overstepping my boundaries by giving you this," Molly said as she presented Katie with her own veil.

Katie was in tears and looked lovingly at the veil. Molly had been kinder to her in the last few months than her own mother had for many years. It warmed her heart to know that Molly felt that way about her.

"Thank you, Molly. I can't express just how much this means to me.. Everyone has been so kind to me since I came here in the summer. I know it isn't just because of what happened with my parents as you were all kind before you even found out. Molly, I would be honoured to wear this for the wedding," Katie told her before hugging her.

"Do you mind if I asked a large favour?" Katie asked.

"Anything, dear," replied Molly.

"Would Mr. Weasley walk me down the aisle?" she asked hopefully.

"I am certain that he will. I'll ask him and let you know," replied Molly before giving her another hug.

Katie arrived at the platform and thanked Arthur for escorting her. She then took George's hand as they turned towards Dumbledore.

"Today it is my great pleasure to preside over the wedding of Katie Bell and George Weasley," Dumbledore stated as he addressed those gathered.

"Katie Bell, do you take George Weasley to be your husband? Do you promise to love him, honour him, to work together to resolve any conflicts, and do you promise to stay loyal to only him for so long as you both live?" asked Dumbledore.

"I do," replied Katie.

"George Weasley, do you take Katie Bell to be your wife? Do you promise to love her, honour her, to work together to resolve any conflicts, and do you promise to stay loyal to only her for so long as you both live?"

"I do," replied George.

"They have written their own vows," announced Dumbledore.

"George, you have become my best friend, lover, and a constant companion. You accepted me for who I am and even when I didn't share with you what had happened with my parents, you were there for me and supported me through it. I give you this ring as a token of the love that I have for you," Katie said confidently as she slid the ring on his finger.

"Katie, you are also my best friend and lover. You too have accepted me and all my quirks and have made me a better man. I give you this ring as a token of the love I have for you," George said just as confidently as he too slid the ring on her finger.

"Katie and George, please lift your wands," announced Dumbledore.

"With the exchanging of vows and rings, Katie and George have demonstrated before us their love for each other and their promise to be faithful to each other. These two wands are now united together, never to be used to bring harm to the other so long as they both remain faithful," added Dumbledore before waving his wand over them.

"You may kiss your bride."

George lifted Katie and kissed her deeply, before turning toward everyone else.

"It gives me great pleasure to present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Katie Bell," announced Dumbledore.

Dumbledore's eyes were dancing with delight that he had finally been able to pull a prank on one of the twins. Everyone fell about laughing, which got stronger when Katie announced that she quite liked the sound of that.

George took it in stride as he flicked his wand and Dumbledore's beard and hair suddenly changed to Weasley red.

Minerva turned to him, "Looks good on you. I think you should keep it."

Harry quickly escorted everyone, including Ginny, out of the ballroom while it was re-arranged for the reception. Unknown to anyone else, he had arranged for the Weird Sisters to play. They would only be able to stay in the main ballroom for security reasons and had no clue where they were. Once they were setup, Harry allowed everyone back into the ballroom and was soon attacked by an ecstatic Ginny.

The reception lasted long into the evening with the Weird Sisters playing a large selection of songs. Ginny had spent most of the evening talking with them and had even been invited to attend one of their live concerts. She told them that she would love to come, but didn't think anything could beat this.

' _Should I be worried?_ ' asked Harry a little later.

' _Maybe he is quite handsome, you know,_ ' replied Ginny playfully.

' _Yes, he is. Maybe I will run off with him instead._ '

' _Ewww,_ ' replied Ginny in mock disgust.

' _It's almost time to end the evening. Would you care for one more dance?_ ' asked Harry.

' _Always_ ,' replied Ginny as they approached each other. The band were playing a few slow numbers to close out the evening. Harry took Ginny by the hand and led her to the dance floor where they held each other close and swayed to the music.

' _Thank you for inviting them, Harry,_ ' Ginny said as they continued to move around the dance floor.

' _I knew you would approve and I knew Katie was a big fan too,_ ' replied Harry as he leaned down to kiss her.

' _Your mum looks so happy,_ ' Harry said a little later.

' _Yes, after the attack she was so worried about all of us. This Christmas has been very good for her,_ ' Ginny said.

' _It must be so weird for her. Last Christmas she gained a son-in-law. This Christmas a daughter-in-law and in a few months another one. She'll be putting pressure on the other boys soon if they are not careful._ '

As the evening drew to a close, Katie and George thanked Harry for everything, especially arranging for the band.

"You're welcome, Mr. Bell," replied Harry with a laugh.

"Watch it, Mr. Weasley," stated George, which brought several laughs from those around them.

The young couple left the ballroom after Katie threw the bouquet, which Hermione caught much to the delight of Molly and shock of Fred. They made their way up to their suite. George and Katie's old rooms had been transformed into a suite, which resembled the master suite that Harry and Ginny had, but wasn't as big. Harry had just told them that the castle itself took care of these things and that he just let it.

Harry finished the evening by transporting the Weird Sisters and their equipment back to their studio.

* * *

When Harry returned, he found Albus waiting for him in his study.

"Evening, Albus. I am surprised you are still here," stated Harry as he sat down.

"I have some troubling news, Harry."

"What's wrong?"

"It appears that someone reported the incident between Ginny and Miss Chang to the Board of Governors. They have reviewed it and the evidence provided and have made a decision."

"What did they decide?" asked Harry.

"Ginny has been suspended from Hogwarts effective immediately and the case has been referred to the Wizengamot for a formal hearing to determine if any charges should be brought. They stated that because she is now an adult in the Wizarding World that she needed to face the consequences for her actions as anyone else would," replied Albus.

Harry was very grateful that Ginny was currently sleeping. Otherwise he was certain the explosion would have been heard across England.

"I don't understand how they can do that. Surely if Cho's own parents decided that no charges were needed, how can the Governors pursue it?"

"They have used a loophole in the school rules, regarding the status of adult students," stated Albus. "Whoever presented the information to the Governors did their homework."

"Thank you for letting me know," Harry said as he considered how he was going to tell Ginny she could not return to school.

"Now, of course, they cannot stop Ginny from actually being in the school. She just cannot attend any lessons," Albus stated, realizing what Harry was most likely thinking.

* * *

Harry had arranged for George and Katie to spend a couple of days at Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow, which had been repaired after the fateful day when his parents died.

The cottage was almost as secure as Potter Castle since it had been repaired, so there was no danger of them being found. Maxim had sent one of the house-elves to work in the house while they stayed there.

The rest of the occupants of Potter Castle enjoyed a lazy morning after the wedding. They didn't have any practice sessions before returning to Hogwarts, so just enjoyed the time.

Ginny knew immediately when she woke up that something was wrong.

"What happened?"

"Gin, someone reported the incident with Cho to the Board of Governors. You have been suspended from school, pending a formal hearing in the Wizengamot," stated Harry quietly.

Ginny didn't say anything for several minutes, which worried Harry a little. "I should have known that wasn't the end of it. When is the hearing?"

"They haven't set a date yet. Whatever happens, we'll get through this together," Harry told her as he pulled her into his arms and comforted her.

A while later, they decided to go adventuring in their Phoenix forms. As they left the castle, they were joined by Xavier and Fawkes. They flew for several hours around the forest watching as animals dug for food or attempted to find somewhere warm to sleep. With their Phoenix abilities, they could see far more than any human would have been able to see and marveled at how amazing the world truly was.

' _I think it is time to step up your Phoenix training,_ ' Xavier told them as they flew back towards the castle.

' _I thought we had learned most of the stuff now?_ ' Harry questioned.

' _Not everything. There were some things that were beyond your abilities until recently,_ ' replied Xavier.

' _Oh, what changed that allowed us to access them now?_ ' asked Ginny.

' _When you consummated your marriage recently, you also achieved a full Phoenix bond,_ ' explained Xavier as they landed on the largest tower of the castle.

' _Yes, Harry. That means that you are now the King and Queen with Archimedes and Amelia,_ ' added Xavier.

' _Since you have now mated, you have completed your bonding at the Phoenix level. Phoenixes mate for life and form an unbreakable bond. Even if someone was able to break your human bond, there is no way of breaking a Phoenix bond._ '

' _So what does that mean for us?_ ' asked Ginny, still stunned by what they had learned.

' _Once a Phoenix bond has been completed, the bonded pair have additional abilities. The most important of these is a heightened sense of what is happening around you; the stronger the bond, the larger the area that will be covered,_ ' Xavier explained.

' _How does that work?_ ' asked Ginny.

' _If you reach out with your senses now, you will be able to determine what is happening around the castle at the moment,_ ' explained Xavier.

Both of them reached out as instructed. It wasn't long before they could tell exactly what was happening. The largest concentration of activity was from the Potions lab where the elves were busy working.

As they ended their training for the day, Harry and Ginny realized just how important this ability could be. They decided to spend time each day before going to bed practicing so that they could refine it further.

* * *

The rest of the Christmas Holiday passed very quickly for everyone at Potter Castle.

Harry and Ginny spent their time reviewing additional memories from Merlin and in Phoenix training with Xavier. They still had not received a date for Ginny's hearing, but had decided to return together to Hogwarts, even if Ginny had to stay in the Founder's Study most of the time.

The New Marauders spent most of their time working on their sword fighting skills. Since they had unrestricted access to the training room and their mentors, they had progressed much further than anyone had expected. Harry and Ginny were able to duel with wands and swords for close to two hours before they felt it draining their magic at all.

They still trained hard because they knew that when they finally faced Tom, they would need all their strength. They were not going to underestimate him and since the incident with the Merlin shield failing, they made sure they had other ways to protect themselves in the future, just in case something happened.

Albus and Kingsley Shacklebolt spent a lot of time with the group drilling them and pushing them as hard as they could.

The day before they were due to return to Hogwarts, Kingsley addressed them. "Each of you has demonstrated your abilities under pressure and has excelled in the training that we have given you. I am pleased to present you with Auror badges. You have passed all the qualifications to become Aurors and with special permission from the Minister have been assigned to a top secret group."

Each of them came forward and accepted the badge from Kingsley.

"With the exception of the Minister and everyone in this room, no one else is aware of this group and it will remain that way. These badges also act as two-way communicators directly to me. If you are ever in trouble, activate the badge and assistance will be sent immediately."

Kingsley spent the rest of the afternoon explaining to them the finer details of the new position and what was expected of them. As they were still students at Hogwarts, the majority of their responsibility revolved around protecting Hogwarts and its students.

* * *

Later that evening, Remus and Tonks announced that they were engaged and planned to get married soon. Once again everyone at Potter Castle spent the evening celebrating the news.

It wasn't until later that Harry and Ginny realized there was more to it than just wanting to get married. They had a quiet word with Tonks afterwards and confirmed that she was pregnant. She asked them not to say anything yet as Remus was still worried about the werewolf issue.

Harry and Ginny told her not to worry. Using their Phoenix senses, they could see that the baby did not have any werewolf DNA in his body. They congratulated them and told them if they needed anything to just ask.

Remus was extremely pleased when he heard the news. He finally relaxed and accepted that he was going to be a father. It had scared him to death, but he knew that with the new Potion and others around him he didn't have to worry.

Harry and Ginny had not told either of them that they were expecting a boy. They wanted it to be a surprise for them. As they slowly made their way back to their suite, Harry and Ginny pondered everything that had happened recently. It was amazing to them that, despite the war, their families were moving on with life.

' _It's good to see them happy,_ ' Ginny said.

' _Yes, I am surprised that Remus and Tonks are expecting. You would think with everything that is going on that they would want to not have that worry,_ ' Harry said as they walked around the castle.

' _Maybe they realized that life is too short to allow those types of worries to influence them,_ ' stated Ginny.

' _Maybe, well as long as I am alive, I will do everything I can to make sure they are all safe,_ ' Harry said as they walked down a long corridor. It was then that they realized they didn't have a clue where they were.

' _I don't remember seeing this part of the castle before,_ ' added Harry, once he got his bearings.

' _Me neither. I thought we had explored the whole castle already._ '

As they were exploring, they found several new rooms had been added to the castle. They soon realized that the castle was adapting to the changing circumstances and was providing a living area for Remus and Tonks and their future child. One of the rooms was reinforced, just in case Remus ever forgot his potion before a full moon.

Harry asked Maxim to show the rooms to Remus in the morning and decorate them however they wanted.

Once they had finished exploring, they made their way to their suite to finish packing for school the next morning.

* * *

On the train back to Hogwarts, Pansy Parkinson and her gang, including a reluctant Malcolm Baddock, walked in on Harry and Ginny kissing.

"How much does she pay you, Potter?" asked Parkinson.

"Not everyone is like you, Parkinson," mocked Harry.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked angrily.

"That not everyone has to pay their 'boyfriend' to kiss them," replied Harry.

"It's not surprising that Malfoy spent so much time with Crabbe and Goyle," added Ginny. "If that was what I had to kiss, I would turn probably want to be gay, too."

They knew they were stirring a boiling cauldron at the moment, but really didn't care.

"Don't talk about Draco like that, you bitch," Pansy responded before raising her wand towards Ginny and firing off a cutting curse. Unfortunately for Parkinson, Harry and Ginny chose to use the reflective mode of their shield so the curse slammed straight into her wand causing it to explode taking most of her hand with it.

"Well that was rather careless," said Angelina Johnson from the door.

"He attacked me," shouted Parkinson, while waving her hand around, causing the blood to splatter on her four friends.

"Actually, Miss Parkinson, you attacked yourself," replied Angelina.

"Should have known you would take his side," spat Parkinson.

"I am not taking any sides, Parkinson. I saw what happened and am telling the truth. Now I suggest that you stand still so we can take a look at your hand," Angelina stated. "She needs to go to the Infirmary," Angelina said after examining her hand for a few minutes.

Harry summoned Xavier and asked him to flash Parkinson directly to the infirmary. He then dispatched his Patronus to the school with a message for Dumbledore and Pomfrey, explaining what had happened.

By the time everyone else had arrived at Hogwarts, Parkinson's hand had been patched up, but would never fully heal. She was also told, in no uncertain terms, that she would not be allowed to leave the school to get a new wand and so would have to wait until one arrived.

Before dinner, Harry, Ginny and Angelina went to the Headmaster's office so they could share with him what happened. Harry showed Dumbledore the memory of the confrontation and Angelina confirmed that is exactly what happened.

"Why did you choose to use the shield in reflective mode?" asked Dumbledore.

"Because we are so tired of their constant attacks," replied Harry.

"But now they could report this back to Tom," stated Dumbledore.

"That won't be a problem, Sir," Harry said looking amused.

"What do you mean?" asked Dumbledore.

"He will find out eventually anyway. There is nothing he can do about the shield, so it doesn't matter if he knows," replied Harry.

"Don't underestimate him. The more he thinks he knows, the more dangerous he will become," Albus stated.

"We won't. He already knows we can stop the Unforgivables so it isn't too much of a surprise that we can reflect them too," replied Harry.

"Very well, Harry. Now I believe it is time for our wonderful feast," Dumbledore announced as he got up and headed to the door.

When they arrived in the Great Hall, they could see a number of people crowded around Parkinson, asking about the injury.

They quickly took their seats and were soon enjoying the food.

"Good evening," Professor Dumbledore said when they finished eating.

"I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. I have one special announcement to make. On New Year's Day, it was my great pleasure to perform the marriage ceremony for two young people at the school. It is my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. George Weasley, more commonly known to their friends as Mr. and Mrs. Katie Bell."

Cheers and laughter rang out around the hall. A large number of people from all the houses congratulated the couple as they left the hall after the announcement. The only group that didn't say anything was Parkinson and her gang.

The couple made their way up to their new rooms and quickly settled in.

* * *

Two days after returning, Dumbledore's Army had their first meeting of the New Year. Sirius had told the New Marauders that one of them would be asked to lead so that they could evaluate them. Sirius had asked Harry not to attend so that the others would not look to him to help them. Ginny had been allowed to attend the session, but was not to help either.

Neville explained that they would again be practicing in the scenarios so that they could test their skills in more realistic settings. He went around and randomly assigned numbers to each person in the group.

"Right, this evening we are going to do it differently. I have assigned each of you a number. When I call your number, come forward. I will then explain the scenario to you. You will then have ten minutes to confer with the other members of your group before entering. Remember the objective is to complete the mission without losing anyone. There is no set time limit, but the faster you complete it, the better," Neville told them all.

"Professor Dumbledore and Professor Black will be evaluating each team at the end. Don't be afraid if you make mistakes. It is better that you do it here and learn from it than if we were in a real fight," continued Neville.

They all acknowledged what he had told them and started seeking out other members of their team.

"Team One, please come forward," called Neville again.

They quickly moved to the front and he explained that they would need to rescue the hostage from the tower in the middle. Once they were inside, they had to leave the tower without being detected.

The team quickly reviewed the information and determined that someone would scout ahead and find out what they had to face. The others would approach slowly and deal with them.

Three hours later, each of the teams had completed their missions. Only one team had been able to get out of the tower undetected, but all of them made a good effort.

"Congratulations all of you. As I said at the start, these are training missions. While the aim should be to complete them successfully, it isn't as critical as it would be in real life," Neville told them before dismissing them all.

'How did it go?' Harry asked over the bond as they walked separately back to the Study.

' _It went well. Neville did a great job,_ ' replied Ginny.

' _That's good. I thought he would,_ ' replied Harry.

As Ginny continued to walk, she could sense that someone was following her. She reached out with her Phoenix senses and could see Parkinson and her gang preparing a surprise attack.

' _Will they never learn?_ ' Harry said angrily.

' _It would appear not,_ ' replied Ginny.

As they were talking, Harry flashed directly behind them and waited patiently.

' _Let me deal with them,_ ' Ginny said.

' _You spoil all my fun,_ ' pouted Harry as he watched.

' _I will make it up to you later,_ ' Ginny promised with a smile.

As Ginny walked around the next corner, the five of them jumped out with their wands pointing directly at her.

"I see you have a new wand, Parkinson," Ginny stated with a smile.

"And I see that you don't have one with you, Weaslette," replied Parkinson.

"Looks can be deceiving, Parkinson, as I am sure all your boyfriends have found out when you remove the numerous Glamours you have covering your body," replied Ginny.

She could tell that none of the others knew about the Glamours and made a note to reverse them one day while they were all in the Great Hall so that everyone could see what she really looked like.

"Shut up, you stupid bitch," screamed Parkinson. "Your precious boyfriend isn't here to protect you now. As you can see, we outnumber you."

"Oh, I'm quaking in my boots," laughed Ginny.

"Maybe I will let the boys have some fun with you before we dispose of you properly," declared Parkinson as she moved closer.

"I think they would rather have fun with each other," Ginny replied, while watching them all closely.

She could see that it took several seconds for Crabbe, Goyle and Baddock to realize what she had implied by her comment.

"Just get this over with," shouted Baddock.

"We have plenty of time. By the time anyone finds her, it will be too late anyway," replied Parkinson, who quickly sent a Stunner at Ginny.

Ginny rolled to the floor while releasing both of her wands from their holsters and fired off four Stunners before any of the others even realized she had moved. Parkinson looked around to see that all her friends were out cold and no longer able to help.

"Well, it seems the odds are even now," mocked Ginny as she stood before Parkinson.

"You're still no match for me," replied Parkinson.

"That sounds like a challenge to me. What do you think, Harry?" asked Ginny, without taking her eyes off Parkinson.

"I am not going to fall for that," Parkinson stated, looking slightly unsettled.

"I agree!" said Harry loudly from behind Parkinson.

As Parkinson spun round, Ginny fired a Stunner at her and took her out.

"We need to teach them a lesson they won't forget," stated Ginny, having summoned all their wands.

"What did you have in mind?" asked Harry.

"Complete humiliation," Ginny said as she flashed an image to Harry.

"Ewww, do we really have to see that?" replied Harry, who now felt sick.

Without saying another word, Ginny snapped each of their wands. She then wandlessly Banished all their clothing. Remembering to remove all the Glamour Charms on Parkinson so everyone could see what she really looked like, Ginny then took several pictures, which she planned to use at some point in the future. They then left the group to make their way back to their common room.

To maximize their embarrassment, Ginny caused a loud gong to sound in the Slytherin common room. Causing everyone to wake up and gather in the common room. Unfortunately for them, no one seemed to know where the gonging sound was coming from and couldn't do anything to stop it, so they all sat in the common room angrily.

' _Now I believe you promised to make it up to me,_ ' Harry said as he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

' _I believe I did, Mr. Potter,_ ' Ginny replied before she flashed them to their room in the Founder's Study and then proceeded to reward him for not interfering.

* * *

"Rockwood, what is happening with the Prophecy?" asked Voldemort in anger.

"I am not able to retrieve it. The Prophecies can only be retrieved by the person or people referenced in the actual Prophecy. I have attempted to get around this, but nothing has worked so far," replied Rockwood.

"And when were you planning to tell me this?"

"I was trying to find a way around it before reporting back, my Lord," replied Rockwood, looking very worried.

"Crucio," screamed Tom.

"Just be thankful that you were at least trying to find a solution. Otherwise you would have joined Lucius."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Take me to the Prophecy so that I can retrieve it and end the reign of the Dumbledore-loving fool," Tom ordered.

Immediately Rockwood Apparated with Tom from the throne room to just outside the Department of Mysteries.

"Why are we out here?" asked Tom.

"There are strong anti-Apparition wards protecting the main room. This is as close as we can get without setting off the alarms and alerting the Aurors," explained Rockwood.

"Very well, you have proven useful once again," replied Tom with a sneer. "Now lead the way before I tire of you."

Rockwood led Tom through several doors until they arrived in the vast expanse of the Prophecy room. Once inside they walked for another fifteen minutes before they reached the right shelf.

"Finally, we will know the truth," smirked Tom as he grabbed the orb. Immediately numerous alarms sounded throughout the building.

"You idiot," screamed Tom, "I hope, for your sake, you have a way out of here."

"Yes, my Lord, follow me."

Rockwood lead Tom through various doors until they reached a seldom used lift, which would take them back to the Atrium.

"You have failed me once again. and will be punished," Tom told Rockwood as the lift travelled upwards.

"I'm sorry, my Lord. I was not aware of the alarms. I watched carefully and others have retrieved orbs without an alarm going off," replied Rockwood, hoping it would buy him some relief.

"That Muggle loving fool must have put the alarm on the orb," spat Tom as they exited the lift.

"Tom, I knew you would come eventually," announced Albus as he stood in the Atrium, blocking the exit.

"Dumbledore, you have failed. I have the prophecy and soon you will be dead. Nothing will stand in my way this time," replied Tom before throwing a Killing Curse directly at Albus.

Albus immediately moved out of the way before engaging Tom in battle.

"You are weak, old man," sneered Tom as he threw curse after curse at Albus.

"Not as weak as you hope," replied Albus before throwing a curse that knocked Tom into the wall behind him.

"You cannot win, Dumbledore. It is only a matter of time before I have defeated you and the Potter brat," shouted Tom as he again threw curses at Dumbledore.

"You didn't beat Harry last time. In fact, if I recall correctly, you had to be carried from the battlefield by your Death Eaters," replied Dumbledore smugly, knowing it would anger Tom.

Dumbledore knew Tom well enough to know that he was careless when very angry and would leave himself open for attack.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THAT TRAITOR SNAPE, YOU WOULD BE DEAD!" screamed Tom as he lunged forward while throwing multiple curses towards Albus.

"Now," shouted Albus as he dove out of the way of the curses.

Suddenly a dozen Goblin Warriors appeared and threw Cutting Curses directly at Tom severing his right arm, badly cutting his torso and left leg. Tom collapsed to the ground in agony and looked around quickly to see if there was any escape route, but realized he was trapped.

Just as Albus spun around to attack again, he spotted Rockwood racing across the Atrium, having just collapsed the anti-Portkey wards. Rockwood dove under a volley of curses from the Goblins and seconds later disappeared with Tom.

"Sorry, Albus. They managed to collapse the anti-Portkey wards," one of the Goblin warriors announced.

"No problem," replied Albus calmly before checking that everyone else was okay and disappearing with Fawkes.

* * *

Rockwood and Tom landed heavily in the throne room and Rockwood immediately summoned the remaining Death Eaters. While they were waiting, Rockwood began healing the injuries. There was nothing they could do about the arm as that was left behind.

Rockwood cauterized the severed arm so that it would stop bleeding and then helped Tom onto his throne. Moments later the other Death Eaters appeared in the room.

"Friends, as you can see, I have been injured once again. The Goblins and Dumbledore are responsible for this attack and must be punished. However that can wait as we finally have the Prophecy and the means to destroy Harry Potter once and for all," announced Tom with a rare smile.

Tom placed the Prophecy Orb on the desk in front of him and tapped it twice so that the playback would begin.

A strange voice filled the room and began to speak, " **The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, Born as the seventh month dies... the Dark Lord shall know his supporters but none will be satisfied... He shall share his seed with them but none shall succeed... The Dark Lord shall meet the same fate as those he has known… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...** "

The Death Eaters all looked at each other in confusion.

"What does it mean?" asked Tom.

When none of them answered, Tom stood to his full height. "Don't just stand there! Find out what it means!"

The Death Eaters immediately disappeared from the room, rather than risk the wrath of their Lord for delaying.

Tom walked around the throne room, contemplating the words of the Prophecy, unaware that two people were still present with him and trying hard not to laugh.

* * *

Albus arrived back at Hogwarts and found Minerva pacing in his office, "What happened?"

"Tom took the Prophecy. Everything went as planned," replied Albus before kissing her.

"Does he suspect anything?"

"No, we forced him to fight his way out of the Atrium and he was badly injured. He will believe that he has the real thing and I am sure will spend a lot of time researching it.

"We also managed to capture his arm, which may help us determine what else he has done to himself," explained Albus.

"We should know soon what else happened. Harry and Ginny disappeared shortly after you left," added Minerva.

"I suspected they would."

"So did you have anything else to do while we wait?" asked Albus with a mischievous twinkle.

"I am not doing that, you dirty old man. I told you when we got together that I wanted a ring on my finger before anything happened," replied Minerva before slapping him.

"Well that can be arranged," Albus said before conjuring a beautiful solid platinum engagement ring with a half carat diamond.

"I know we haven't been together for long, but we have danced around each other for many years. Will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

"Yes, I will, but that still doesn't mean you can have your wicked way with me just yet," replied Minerva before kissing him deeply.

"As much as we are happy to see you finally get together, please, please don't ever talk about that where others can hear you," stated Harry who had arrived in the room a moment earlier.

"Well, Mr. Potter, if you would learn to knock before entering a room, you wouldn't have to hear that," replied Albus with a smile.

"Congratulations to both of you," Ginny said as she hugged them.

"Thank you," replied Minerva, who was still smiling.

"What happened?" asked Albus once they had settled down.

"As we expected none of the Death Eaters responded when Tom asked what it meant. Now that could mean they don't know or actually have enough intelligence to not say anything," announced Ginny.

"He had sent them all off to research it. He was pacing his throne room thinking about it when we left," added Harry.

"Were you able to determine anything else?"

"Yes, unfortunately the trace we put on the ring didn't work. We were not able to reach any of the Death Eaters through the Dark Marks," replied Harry.

"Well we knew it might not work, but at least we had a chance to try and more importantly Tom doesn't know it wasn't really a Horcrux they used," replied Albus.

"There is something else. The connection with Tom has changed. We didn't say anything before because we didn't understand it and to be honest we still don't. We learned from Xavier it was a result of my anger recently. The link is still there as we learned tonight, but we are worried about what this could mean."

Albus looked worried, but didn't know any better what it could mean. "We have to be careful. If Tom knows about the link, it could cause a lot of problems for you in the future."

"We will be cautious and only enter his mind if really necessary. I suggest that we need to find another way to keep a watch on Tom, just in case," replied Harry.

"That may not be easy, but I will see what we can do."

"We also learned that he wants to get revenge for what happened when he escaped. He blames the Goblins."

"That is to be expected," replied Albus without concern.

 _A/N: As I am sure that some questions will be raised by the wedding. I wanted to just say that they are both sixteen, but marriage is allowed if approval is provided by the parents. Because Katie has been abandoned, it falls to someone who has guardianship to approve in this case Dumbledore. As with Harry and Ginny, they are both now classed as adults in the Wizarding World._


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

Following their failed attempt to attack Ginny, Parkinson and her gang slowly made their way back to the Slytherin common room. Due to their lack of clothing, progress was slow since every time they heard a noise, they quickly hid in case anyone saw them. Unfortunately for them when they got down to the dungeons, it was getting colder and colder the deeper they went. Parkinson and Bulstrode couldn't hide the fact for very long and were even more embarrassed when the boys noticed.

"Keep your eyes on the path in front of you," snapped Parkinson. "Or do I need to remind you that the cold doesn't do you a lot of good either?"

Baddock immediately looked ahead, but Crabbe and Goyle were too stupid and had never seen a naked girl before. They leered at them for too long and the girls were starting to get scared.

"Come on, we don't have much time," ordered Baddock, who also didn't like the way the boys were looking at the girls.

"I agree," stated Parkinson.

They resumed their journey to the common room hoping to find it empty when they arrived; unfortunately as soon as they walked through the door, they were not so lucky.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Slughorn when he saw them.

"The Potter bitch and her husband attacked us," replied Pansy, who was desperately trying to cover herself as most of the boys were staring at her. However, if she had watched, she would have noticed it wasn't her breasts they were looking at, but rather the ugly pug face that was usually concealed behind her multiple charms.

"Twenty points from Slytherin for your language. What evidence do you have?" asked Slughorn as one of their roommates brought them robes. However it wasn't to stop their embarrassment, but to stop everyone else having to see them.

"We were walking back to the common room when Potter attacked without warning," added Bulstrode.

"So you are telling me that one student who is a year younger than the five of you was able to disable all of you, then remove all of your clothes?" asked Slughorn with a smirk.

"Where are your wands?"

"She stole them also," replied Parkinson.

"I see, well I will bring this to the Headmaster's attention in the morning. In the meantime, I suggest you get to your rooms and bed. I expect you in my office before breakfast," announced Slughorn.

"Yes, sir," they replied before heading off to bed to a chorus of laughter from their housemates.

Slughorn made his way to McGonagall's office to discuss the situation, "Sorry to disturb you. Unfortunately we had a situation this evening involving five of my students. They claim that Mr. and Mrs. Potter attacked them as they were making their way back to the common room."

"I see. I seriously doubt they were involved. However I will send for them immediately," replied McGonagall who thought that it was very likely they were involved, but also knew there was probably no way of proving it.

Harry and Ginny arrived a few minutes later. They knocked on the door and waited for McGonagall to let them in.

"Good evening, Professors," Harry said.

"Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, earlier this evening when five of my students arrived back in our common room, each of them was naked. They have accused you of attacking them," stated Slughorn.

Neither Harry nor Ginny said anything in response to the accusation.

"Mr. Potter, please can you answer the question?" demanded McGonagall.

"Professor, no question has been asked. Only an accusation stated," replied Harry.

Harry could see a small smile on McGonagall's face at his response.

"Very good, Mr. Potter, can you tell me where you were this evening?" asked Slughorn.

"Ginny and I were in our room relaxing," replied Harry.

"And you have no knowledge of an attack on Parkinson, Bulstrode, Baddock, Crabbe and Goyle?"

"Only what you have already stated," replied Ginny.

"Please can you give me your wands? We will soon get to the bottom of this," ordered Slughorn.

"No, this is not acceptable," announced McGonagall.

"It's okay, Professor. We have nothing to hide," replied Harry as he and Ginny handed over their wands.

Slughorn performed _Prior Incantato_ on the wands.

"I told you," announced McGonagall, smugly knowing that they were not stupid enough to allow anyone to find out if they had been involved.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your time this evening," Slughorn said kindly as he returned their wands.

Harry and Ginny immediately left McGonagall's office and returned to the Founder's Study and their bedroom.

"We both know it is very likely that they were involved," Slughorn said as he accepted a drink from McGonagall.

"Yes but they are not stupid enough to get caught. It is very unlikely that they were the ones to initiated the attack," replied McGonagall. "I will discuss this further with them in the morning."

"Thank you, Minerva. I will see you in the morning," replied Slughorn before leaving for his quarters.

"What do you think?" Minerva said as she turned to Albus, who had been invisible in the corner of the office.

"Fawkes has told me that the five of them attempted to attack Ginny, but as we know, they failed. I don't approve of how they handled the situation, but there is absolutely nothing we can do," replied Albus as he sat down.

"I don't either, Albus, but at least they didn't do any permanent damage."

"Let's head to bed. We can worry about them tomorrow," suggested Albus as he took Minerva's hand.

* * *

The next morning, news had spread around the school regarding the attack on the Slytherin students.

Harry and Ginny made their way into the Great Hall hand in hand when they were approached by Parkinson.

"I will get you for this, bitch," whispered Parkinson nastily.

"I am quivering in my boots," replied Ginny before walking off towards the Gryffindor table.

As they ate their breakfast, they could hear Parkinson and their gang making comments about Ginny. Baddock was telling Crabbe and Goyle what he would do to her. Crabbe and Goyle were too thick to understand what he was talking about, but agreed anyway.

' _Well, it seems that they still haven't learned their lesson,_ ' said Ginny angrily.

' _It's not like he will ever get the chance to do any of those things_ ,' replied Harry, trying to calm her.

' _Why can't they just leave us alone?_ '

' _Because they don't have any brains and are following after their idiot parents,_ ' replied Harry.

' _It seems that they need another lesson,_ ' replied Ginny, before snapping her fingers.

Above the Professors' table, a picture appeared, showing the five Slytherins completely naked and facing the camera. The reaction from the students was instant and very interesting. Most of the girls were pointing at Baddock, Crabbe and Goyle before whispering to each other, then laughing heartily. The boys, on the other hand, threw up when they saw Pansy and Millicent.

"Look at Parkinson," one of the Ravenclaw boys said when they had recovered as he pointed at the large picture.

"Oh Merlin, is she ugly," shouted another.

"Bloody hell, who would have thought that Bulstrode was actually prettier than Parkinson," shouted yet another as the general chatter continued.

Dumbledore rose from his chair to quieten the hall at the same time as Crabbe, Goyle, Baddock and Bulstrode rushed out of it. Those who saw them were shocked to see a small smile on Bulstrode's face as she had obviously heard the last comment.

"QUIET," shouted Dumbledore angrily. "YOU WILL ALL SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT..."

Before he could continue however, Parkinson jumped out of her seat, having heard several more comments about her.

"YOU ARE DEAD, POTTER! _AVADA KEDAVRA_!" she screamed as the Slytherin pointed the wand she had stolen from a first year.

The curse flew directly at Ginny. Before anyone else could react, a shield absorbed the curse and two Elite Goblin Warriors appeared and Stunned Parkinson.

Ginny snapped her fingers again and the picture disappeared in flames.

"Guards, please remove Parkinson and take her directly to the Headmaster's office," Harry told them before turning back to his breakfast.

"Everyone, please settle down. I cannot condone the actions of the individual or individuals who displayed that picture in an attempt to completely humiliate other students. If I find out who it was, they will be expelled immediately and thrown out of the castle," announced Dumbledore, knowing perfectly well that he would not be able to carry out the threat.

"It was Ginny Potter," shouted Cho Chang.

"Miss Chang, do you have any evidence to back up your claims?"

"Yes, Professor, I was walking back to the Ravenclaw common room last night when I spotted Parkinson and her gang hiding. I watched them for several minutes before I spotted Mrs. Potter walking around the corner. As soon as she appeared, they jumped out and attempted to attack her. She quickly disabled them all before proceeding to remove all their clothes and then took that picture. She also snapped their wands and left them to walk back to the Slytherin common room," announced Cho smugly thinking she would get Ginny expelled, leaving Harry available.

"Well, that is certainly an interesting story, Miss Chang," stated Dumbledore. "I am curious, however, why you didn't at any point during this incident attempt to alert a prefect or staff member to what was happening or what happened?"

Cho didn't respond to Dumbledore and instead looked down, trying to think of an answer.

"Is it not more likely that someone relayed to you what happened and you are attempting once again to cause trouble for Mr. and Mrs. Potter?"

"No, sir, that is what happened," replied Cho, trying to recover some dignity.

"And you would be willing to testify to this using Veritaserum?"

"You can't do that," replied Cho confidently.

"Actually, Miss Chang, we can and will to determine if you are telling the truth or not," replied Dumbledore with a slight twinkle in his eye.

Cho suddenly paled, knowing that everything was coming undone and she was caught in another lie.

"No, sir, I'm sorry," replied Cho, tears in her eyes.

"Miss Chang, one hundred points from Ravenclaw and you will be serving detention every evening until further notice with Mr. Filch," announced Dumbledore. "Now, unless anyone else would like offer an opinion on this, I suggest you get to your classes immediately."

* * *

Dumbledore, Slughorn and two Aurors walked into his office to deal with Parkinson, who was being watched closely by the Goblin guards.

"Miss Parkinson, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Mrs. Potter," announced Shacklebolt as he placed her in cuffs.

"You can't arrest me without my father," announced Parkinson.

"Actually, Miss Parkinson, they can as your father's body turned up in two pieces at Azkaban yesterday. It appears the Giants didn't like his threats," said one of the Goblins.

"What?" said Parkinson sadly as tears started falling from her eyes.

"I'm sorry to have to inform you of this, Miss Parkinson, but your father has passed away. As he had not made any arrangements for what would happen to you in this situation and his vault has been seized for being an active Death Eater's, you are now a ward of the Ministry," announced Dumbledore.

"But he wasn't a Death Eater," replied Parkinson slowly.

"There is no need to lie now. We found the Dark Mark on his arm when we examined the body and know he was active recently in several attacks," replied Dumbledore.

"What will happen now?"

"Using an Unforgivable is an automatic imprisonment in Azkaban. A date will be set for your trial. In the meantime, you will be remanded to Azkaban," replied Dumbledore before taking out his Chief Warlock Staff.

"I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot do hereby remand you to Azkaban prison for the attempted murder of Mrs. Ginevra Molly Potter. A date will be scheduled soon for your trial," announced Albus before signing a form.

"Auror, please escort Miss Parkinson immediately to Azkaban."

Once they left, Dumbledore slumped into his seat and sighed.

* * *

Two days later, Harry and Ginny made their way to the Ministry for Ginny's trial. They had prepared themselves for the proceedings and had already decided what they were going to do.

They were not sure what would happen as they still had not learned the identity of the person who had pushed for the trial.

As they entered the courtroom, they could see that the whole Wizengamot had gathered. Harry instinctively reached out with his Phoenix magic to see if anyone was carrying the Dark Mark. He was pleased to see that the new measures that Amelia had put in place were working as he found nothing.

Harry and Ginny made their way to the center of the courtroom and settled into the chairs that had been provided. They waited patiently for the trial to start while talking in their minds.

Several minutes later, Amelia stood and addressed the court.

"Good morning. We are here today for the trial of Mrs. Ginevra Molly Potter," she announced before seating everyone. "Mr. Robert Rogwell is representing the prosecution on behalf of the Hogwarts Board of Directors and the Chang family."

"Mr. Harry James Potter will be representing the defense," Harry added calmly.

"Very well, clerk, please read the charges," Amelia stated.

A young man stood nervously to read the charges. "Mrs. Potter is charged with actual bodily harm, assault with a deadly weapon and attacking an minor."

"Mrs. Potter, how do you plead to these charges?" asked Amelia, expecting them to deny it.

Ginny stood confidently before addressing the court.

"Your honor, to the first charge, I plead guilty. To the second charge, I plead guilty. To the third charge, I plead not guilty."

The courtroom was completely silent as Ginny took a drink of water before addressing the court again.

"Since the incident, I have had plenty of time to reflect on what happened. My actions were not that of a responsible adult as they should have been, but instead the actions of an immature teenager. I am not proud of what I did. I betrayed the trust of my husband with my actions and hurt my friends."

"I stand here today ready to accept whatever punishment this court decides is appropriate for the charges that have been brought," stated Ginny before sitting down.

Harry was very proud of Ginny. He knew that it was hard for her to openly admit she had been wrong. However, he knew that it would have a significant impact on the trial and was pleased that she had suggested this course of action.

It took several minutes for the courtroom to settle down after her statement. It was clear that the prosecution was livid with what had happened as it was very unlikely they would get to present their case.

Amelia restored order before addressing Ginny. "Mrs. Potter, before we proceed, I must ask why you pleaded not guilty to the third charge when you pleaded guilty to the others?"

Harry stood and addressed the court. "Your honor, while Mrs. Potter is an adult in the Wizarding World due to our marriage, that doesn't negate the fact that she is still fourteen years old. According to our bylaws, she cannot be charged with this crime as the victim is physically older than her, even if that victim isn't deemed as being an adult yet."

Amelia looked towards another court clerk who looked up the law in this matter and confirmed that what Harry had said was correct.

"Very well, the charge of attacking a minor is dropped. We will adjourn to consider the sentence," Amelia stated.

"Objection," shouted Mr. Rogwell.

"Mr. Rogwell, you have no grounds for an objection. Mrs. Potter has pleaded guilty to the only charges that are valid in this case and therefore there is no reason to proceed with the trial," Amelia said, slightly angrily.

"But we have other charges to bring," stated Rogwell desperately.

"Mr. Rogwell, you will address this court correctly when speaking. You know perfectly well that you cannot bring additional charges during a case. Only the charges that are present at the beginning will be considered."

"That is not fair, just because she is the wife of that half-blood imposter," shouted Rogwell angrily while reaching for his wand. Before he could even fire off a curse, four Elite Goblin Warriors appeared directly in front of him and placed him under arrest.

"Mr. Rogwell, I don't know what your agenda was today, but you have made a serious mistake," Amelia stated before ordering him to be held in Azkaban to await trial for contempt of court.

"As I was saying, before we were rudely interrupted, we will now adjourn to consider the sentence," Amelia announced before dismissing the court.

Thirty minutes later, Amelia and the rest of the Wizengamot returned from their deliberations on Ginny's sentence.

"Mrs. Potter, after careful consideration and taking into account your own admission that you overreacted, we have decided on a sentence. You are fined twelve thousand Galleons to be paid to the Chang family for injuries suffered by Miss Chang. In addition, you are required to attend anger management counselling for six months," Amelia announced. "Finally you will be on probation for a period of three years during which time any similar incidents will result in you being sent to Azkaban for the remainder of the time."

Harry and Ginny knew that the sentence could have been much harsher and were just glad that they could go home.

"Thank you," Ginny stated politely.

Amelia dismissed the Wizengamot before approaching the Potters, who were taking care of paperwork with the clerk.

"Harry, I hope you understand why we had to do that?" she asked.

"Of course, we are just glad that she wasn't sent to Azkaban," replied Harry as he signed the last parchment.

"Let's just hope we never have to worry about that again," responded Amelia.

"We will make sure it doesn't," stated Harry calmly.

They slowly made their way to a quiet section of the courtroom before flashing back to Potter Castle to avoid the press.

* * *

Harry and Ginny arrived back at Potter Castle and were surrounded by their family. All of them had left immediately after the trial as they knew Harry and Ginny would not be waiting around once they had completed the necessary paperwork.

Molly pulled Ginny into a hug as soon as she was close enough.

"I am very proud of you. It took a lot of guts to admit that you were wrong and to accept whatever punishment they decided was appropriate," Molly said proudly.

"Thanks, Mum. I am just glad that it is over and done with."

When everyone had settled down for lunch, Harry stood at the head of the table.

"Thank you for your support today. Hopefully we can now put this whole incident behind us and move on with our lives. We have decided that we are going to attend the anger management classes together. Due to the uniqueness of our bond, it will allow us both to express how the situation affected us and how we can move forward from here."

Everyone agreed that it was a very sensible decision and voiced their approval of the plan.

They were soon enjoying a wonderful feast prepared by Maxim and his team. They quickly forgot about that morning's proceedings and instead discussed the next Quidditch game. Katie was looking forward to beating Ravenclaw so they could guarantee winning the cup with one more win after that.

'What's wrong?' Harry asked Ginny as they continued to talk.

'I just remembered that Albus banned me from playing,' stated Ginny sadly.

'Let me talk to him. I am not promising that he will change his mind and I will not do anything to force him,' replied Harry as he took her hand and gently rubbed it.

'Thank you.'

The discussion continued for much of the afternoon as the family enjoyed some time together.

Later that evening, Harry and Ginny slowly made their way up to their suite to spend the evening relaxing before they had to return to Hogwarts. As soon as they were in the room, Harry pulled Ginny towards the bathroom and ran a bath. Once the water was running, he slowly undressed Ginny savouring each piece of skin as it was revealed.

They never made it to the bath as Harry carried Ginny back to their bed and slowly made love to her.

Ginny had never felt so loved in her life. She knew Harry loved her completely and despite what she had done to him before Christmas, he had been able to forgive her just as completely. They had both agreed to lock the memories of the incident in a deep dungeon of their shared mind. They would not forget what happened, just the terrible memories of what it had done to them.

* * *

At breakfast the next morning, a copy of the Daily Prophet arrived and as expected, the trial was front page news.

 ** _Mrs. Potter pleads guilty_**

 ** _By James Evans_**

 ** _Yesterday morning Mrs. Potter surprised most of the Wizarding World by pleading guilty to two of the three charges against her. She openly admitted that she had been in the wrong and agreed to accept any punishment deemed appropriate by the Wizengamot._**

 ** _During the abbreviated trial, due to Mrs. Potter's plea, the prosecuting lawyer was arrested for Contempt of Court when he protested that the trial was over before he could make his case. Minister Bones pointed out that there was no case to make because Mrs. Potter had pleaded guilty to the charges that were valid. Mr. Rogwell has been remanded to Azkaban pending investigation into his actions._**

 ** _Mrs. Potter was fined twelve thousand Galleons and ordered to attend anger management classes for six months. We have learned that Mr. Potter will also be attending these sessions to encourage his wife._**

 ** _The question on everyone's mind this morning is why did she do it?_**

 ** _It is this report's opinion that Mr. and Mrs. Potter wanted to demonstrate that they are not above the law. By pleading guilty, they also stopped Mr. Rogwell from making his case, which according to sources close to the investigation, could have caused some embarrassment to all involved._**

 ** _I applaud both of them for their cunning in this matter and believe the sentence passed was fair. It is also this report's opinion that the changes Mr. Potter instigated when he removed former Minister Fudge from office, has started to have a positive effect on our laws and the decisions that are made._**

Everyone at Potter Castle was very pleased with the article. Finally, the paper was reporting honestly and not twisting anything. They were curious to find out what Mr. Rogwell was planning to present, but knew it didn't matter now as the case was closed and the files had been sealed.

After breakfast, everyone returned to Hogwarts and were soon back to their regular schedule.

* * *

A week after the Christmas holidays, Hagrid finally returned. Harry, Ginny and the others were excited to see him and decided to make their way straight to his hut after eating breakfast.

The journey down to Hagrid's hut took a lot longer than normal, due to the foot of snow on the ground, most of which had fallen the night before. When they finally arrived at his hut, Harry knocked on the door and waited shivering.

"Who's there?" asked Hagrid through the door.

"Hagrid, it's Harry and the others."

"Oh, come in then."

As soon as they walked into the hut, they noticed the large black eye that Hagrid was attempting to cover.

"Hey guys," Hagrid said.

"So how are you, Hagrid?" asked Neville.

"I am okay. How are you all doing?" asked Hagrid.

"Bored," announced Fred as they sat there.

"I hear congratulations are in order, Harry," Hagrid said with a fond smile before hugging Harry and Ginny.

"Thank you, Hagrid," replied Harry happily.

Hagrid grabbed a plate of rock cakes he had just finished making and handed them around to everyone. They politely took them, even though they knew they were not edible.

"So where have you been?" asked Harry as he attempted to eat the cake.

"Dumbledore sent me on a mission, asked me to talk with the giants," replied Hagrid while attempting to hold a large slab of meat to his eye.

"Is that who caused your black eye?" asked Neville.

They could tell that Hagrid was reluctant to answer that question, so Harry quickly added another question, "So how did it go with the giants?"

"It was going well. Unfortunately, several Death Eaters turned up and started causing trouble. They acted friendly towards the giants at first; but when the giants refused to listen, they started attacking. Now the giants are angry and it is difficult to say what they will do," explained Hagrid unhappily.

"I will visit them soon and talk with them. They will listen to us. However we will have to be quick as I am sure that Tom will try and make contact with them again and make promises that he has no intention of fulfilling."

"They won't talk to you," replied Hagrid sadly.

"Oh, I think they will," replied Harry before he and Ginny transformed into their Phoenix form, causing Hagrid to stumble back in shock.

"That's impossible," replied Hagrid. "No one can become a magical creature."

Before their very eyes, they both then transformed to their Basilisk form, which none of the others had seen before. To their surprise, Hagrid actually fainted and shook the hut as he hit the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" shouted Hermione when they transformed back. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US."

"Don't worry. Basilisks only kill if they want to," replied Harry.

"But what if we saw your eyes?" retorted Hermione.

"Basilisks will only attack if they feel threatened."

"But what about the one that was in the Chamber?" asked Hermione, not convinced of what he was saying.

"That one had been corrupted by Tom," replied Harry.

Hermione still wasn't happy with either of them, but backed down. Fred took her into his arms and starting whispering in her ear, which took her mind completely off the subject and caused an impressive blush to appear.

It took a while for Hagrid to wake up. When he did, he looked at Harry in complete shock.

"How is that possible?" asked Hagrid quietly.

"It would take too long for us to explain everything. Suffice it to say, we will be able to communicate with the giants," replied Harry.

They continued to talk with Hagrid for the rest of the morning, finding out about his adventure and what he had been able to do before the Death Eaters turned up.

"It's good to see you again. We will see you soon," they said before leaving for lunch.

* * *

Harry had arranged for Albus to distract Slughorn for several hours that evening so he could finally search Snape's old office and quarters for the hidden cupboard.

Once he received the message from Albus that Slughorn was in his office, Harry and Ginny immediately flashed to Slughorn's quarters and started searching.

' _Severus said that the vial was hidden in his office. I wish he had told us exactly where to find it,_ ' stated Harry as they started searching.

' _If we search using our Phoenix senses for blood, we should be able to find it,_ ' suggested Ginny.

They began the search, looking around the room carefully, trying to find the vial. Ten minutes later, Harry spotted something hidden in the very back of the desk.

' _Found something,_ ' Harry stated as he approached the desk cautiously. ' _There is a hidden compartment at the back of the desk. I will have to take the drawers out to reach it._ '

Harry slowly removed the drawers while Ginny watched the compartment with her Phoenix senses, just in case there were any booby traps. Once the final drawer was removed, Harry also studied the desk with his Phoenix senses before proceeding.

' _Okay, it looks clear,_ ' announced Harry as he leaned inside and opened the compartment. Inside was a single vial, which they quickly determined contained the blood.

' _Once I get rid of the blood, the wards should collapse. The only thing I am not sure about is what will happen when they collapse,_ ' added Harry.

' _We know the door is somewhere in the Potion classroom. We need to go and ward the room before destroying the vial just in case,_ ' suggested Ginny.

They flashed to the classroom once they verified that it was clear and warded it. Harry then destroyed the vial and vanished the blood that had spilled on the ground.

He looked around the room to see if anything had changed and was disappointed to see that nothing had.

' _Hmm, it should be here somewhere,_ ' stated Harry as he continued to search.

' _What about the office?_ ' suggested Ginny.

' _Of course,_ ' replied Harry.

They made their way into the office and quickly spotted the door to the left. It was quite obvious that this door had not been visible before as a bookshelf covered half of it.

' _Check the door before entering. Knowing Severus, he wouldn't have just trusted the wards and there could well be other protections inside,_ " stated Ginny.

Once again they scanned the door and room beyond with their Phoenix senses and were surprised that there weren't any other protections.

' _I guess he never expected anyone to get this far,'_ Ginny said afterwards.

Harry walked through the door cautiously just in case he had missed anything and once inside spotted a number of items scattered around on the shelves.

He studied each item carefully and found several vials of potion with brewing instructions. Harry sent these to Potter Castle with instructions for Sandy to review them and determine what, if any, use they would be in the search for Tom.

On the next shelf, he found Severus' Death Eater mask and robes.

' _These could be useful,_ ' stated Harry as he sent them to the Founder's Study so he could study them later to see if Tom had done anything special to them.

On the next shelf, he found a roll of parchment and a ring. Harry opened the parchment and slowly read,

 ** _This is the will of Severus Snape._**

 ** _To Harry James Potter, I know I never treated you well when at school, for which I am eternally sorry. I held a grudge against you from your father, which wasn't justified as you proved on several occasions. I know we were able to work together a little at the end, but it didn't make up for what I had done before that._**

 ** _I leave you my knowledge of what Tom Riddle has done to himself since I have been a Death Eater and spy in the hope that you can use it. Included in the items in this cupboard is an emergency Portkey that will take you to one of Tom's hideouts. It is the most commonly used hideout, but there are numerous alarms so you will have to act quickly if you use it._**

 ** _To the young girls who were hurt during one of my visits to Malfoy Manor, I cannot tell you how sorry I am for everything that happened to you. I should never have been involved and should have tried to get you out of there before you were rescued by Harry. I leave each of you 75,000 Galleons in the hope that you can rebuild your lives and move on from what happened._**

 ** _To Albus, my mentor and friend, I hope that I died honourably. I can never thank you enough for everything you have done for me since that terrible day when Lily died. I know I treated people badly when I taught at Hogwarts, but you always had time for me and were a true mentor. To you, I leave the rest of my family fortune in the hope that it will help the Order and Harry win the war against Tom._**

 ** _Thank you and goodbye._**

Harry made two copies of the will. He sent one to Ranok and asked him to convert the money for the girls to Muggle currency and set up trust accounts for them. He then wrote a letter to each of them to be included with the account information.

The second copy was sent to Albus with the original going to Potter Castle.

Once they finished in the room, they left through the door again and watched as it vanished forever as Hogwarts sealed it.

"I am glad we got to know him before he left," stated Harry as they walked hand in hand back to the Founder's Study.

"Me too. He was a complicated man, but his heart was in the right place in the end," replied Ginny.

Suddenly Harry stopped walking and pulled Ginny into a broom closet. As soon as the door was closed, he kissed her passionately, leaving her breathless.

"What was that for?" asked Ginny with a large smile.

"We never got the chance to be typical teenagers in love," replied Harry. "I often wondered why people enjoyed sneaking off to snog in a broom closet."

"And what does your research tell you?"

"That I like snogging you, regardless of where we are," replied Harry before kissing her once again.

They continued to kiss and more in the closet for a while before deciding they should return to their room. When they walked out of the closet, however they were surprised to see Professor McGonagall standing outside.

"What do we have here?" Minerva said with a very stern face.

"Sorry, Professor," replied Harry with a smile. "Bloody typical. The first time we ever sneak off to a broom closet to see what the appeal is, we get caught."

"Language, Mr. Potter," Minerva said with a laugh. "You really should remember to use silencing charms when you sneak into a closet. Luckily, it is after curfew at the moment, so no students heard the sounds that were coming from the room," replied Minerva with a large smile when Harry and Ginny blushed.

"Oh come on. You are married. There is nothing wrong with what you were doing, except that I would not encourage you to do that too often in a broom closet. It's murder on your back," Minerva stated before disappearing around the corner sniggering.

Harry and Ginny stood there gobsmacked, before they heard, "I was a teenager once too," stated Minerva from around the corner, causing the two of them to burst out laughing.

* * *

It was with great joy that the students made their way down to the stadium for the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw game.

The Gryffindor team were sitting in their changing room discussing the game. Ron was sitting nervously in his uniform. Even though he had trained with the team since September, he still had not had a chance to play. Most of that was his own fault as he had taken a long time to apologise to Harry and Ginny and that had been a condition of him playing.

"Slytherin has lost both their games so far. Hufflepuff beat them soundly, but allowed a few goals," Katie told them.

"So the question is do we want to humiliate Ravenclaw then or just humble them?" asked Harry.

"Humble them. Only Slytherin deserves humiliation," replied Ginny, who had been allowed to play after pleading with Dumbledore to relax the punishment. Dumbledore had agreed only because Harry told him just how much they had already suffered because of Ginny's actions.

' _Although, if Cho tries anything today, she will be humiliated,_ ' added Ginny, showing Harry exactly what she had planned.

' _Oh come on, do you have to show me that before a game?_ ' replied Harry as he pretended to throw up.

' _Sorry, baby,_ ' replied Ginny with a smirk.

"Now, as you know, Neville is injured and therefore unable to play today. Therefore Ron will be starting the game. I know you have practiced hard, but you need to at least let them score some goals," announced Katie before turning to Ginny and Andrew. "We are going to have to drop the Quaffle a few times to allow them to get it."

The team once again joined hands and shouted "Go Gryffindor" before launching into the air to loud applause.

"The Gryffindor team has arrived on the pitch," stated Lee Jordan loudly.

"Neville Longbottom is unable to play today; therefore Ron Weasley will be starting the game. We also have two name changes since the last Gryffindor game. Ginny Weasley is now Ginny Potter, and we dare not forget the other change, Mr. George Bell," Lee added, causing howls of laughter from the crowd and an very rude gesture from George.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Bell," announced McGonagall for his gesture, causing even more laughter.

George, to his credit, took it well and bowed to McGonagall before flying off to start the game. The Quaffle was launched into the air and the game started quickly.

"The game is under way. Ginny Potter immediately grabs the Quaffle and is heading straight towards the goal. She passes to Katie Weasley who ducks under the Bludger and scores."

The game continued in the same fashion for at least half an hour and the Gryffindor team took a 100 point lead.

"It looks like Gryffindor are heading for another large victory," announced Lee as Ginny was once again heading for the goal.

Harry had been hovering around above the pitch, watching the Snitch with his Phoenix senses. He was waiting for the signal from Katie to end the game when they felt ready. He was so focused on the Snitch that he didn't notice Cho move next to him.

"So, Harry, see anything you like?" asked Cho in a seductive voice, while trying to emphasise her breasts.

"Hmm, yes very much," replied Harry as he stared towards Ginny's backside, which she had just wiggled at him.

Cho hadn't been watching where Harry was looking and finally thought that she was making progress.

"I am sure that I could pleasure you better than that whore," Cho said.

Harry hadn't heard a thing as Ginny was telling him exactly what she wanted to do with him when they won the game. However Ginny had heard what she said and dropped the Quaffle as she spun around so quickly and headed up towards Cho and Harry.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" screamed Ginny as she approached Cho, causing most of the people in the stands to focus on them.

"Nothing," replied Cho.

"THEN WHY DID YOU JUST OFFER TO PLEASURE HARRY?" she screamed so that everyone heard. All the Gryffindors stopped playing at this point and were watching the scene unfold.

"What are you talking about?" said Cho, worried.

"Don't act stupid, Cho. I clearly heard what you offered Harry. You forget that we are Soul Bonded and therefore can hear everything that is said to the other," replied Ginny with a smile.

By this time, most of the people in the stands were laughing as they realized what Ginny had just announced. Several of the boys around the stadium shouted that Cho could come pleasure them at any time, causing even more laughter.

While they were arguing, the Ravenclaw chasers had taken the opportunity to score several times.

"Ravenclaw scores again. It seems that Miss Chang's diversion has helped the team as they are only 40 points behind. Ron Weasley has made some excellent saves to keep the score this low," announced Lee, bringing everyone's attention back to the game.

"This is your last warning, Cho," said Ginny in a quiet, but dangerous voice. "If you as much as hint something like that again to Harry, it will be the last thing you ever do."

"Is that a threat, Potter?" replied Cho loudly.

"No, a promise," replied Ginny before flying off and grabbing the Quaffle to score once again.

Harry was grateful that no one else had heard the threat. Otherwise, he knew it would be all over the papers tomorrow morning.

That was the last time the Ravenclaws had the Quaffle. Gryffindor continued to score for another hour, bringing their lead up to 350-60.

Despite Ginny's warning, Cho continued to flirt with Harry. She was angering both of them immensely, but they were not going to do anything. At one point, she shouted, "When the game is over, why don't you meet up with me behind the changing rooms and I will show you what I can do for you?"

Harry completely ignored the comment and decided it was time to teach her a lesson. He spun around and dived to the ground, pretending to be chasing the Snitch.

"It would appear that Harry has seen the Snitch," announced Lee as everyone watched him dive.

Cho followed him as quickly as her broom would allow and was slowly catching up with him, just as they got closer to the ground. Harry waited until the last second before pulling out of the dive and heading back towards the Gryffindor goal. He watched through Ginny's eyes and Cho ploughed into the ground at full speed.

"Another fantastic Wronski Feint by Harry Potter," announced Lee with glee.

Ravenclaw called a timeout so that Cho could be treated. While Madam Pomfrey was treating her, Harry approached Katie, told her that Cho had continued to flirt with him and that they needed to end the game soon. Katie told him to end the game as soon as the whistle blew so they could return to the common room and celebrate.

Harry sped off towards the Ravenclaw goal where the Snitch was currently floating, Cho gave chase, but wasn't even close when Harry grabbed the Snitch. As soon as he had caught the Snitch, he flew toward Ginny and kissed her very passionately right in front of Cho.

"Cho, obviously you have some issues understanding English, so let me make this plain to you and everyone else, I am not at all interested in you. And can I ask you, what is the point in trying to flaunt your fake breasts at me?" Harry announced loudly so everyone could hear. They then flew off, laughing loudly towards the castle.

Laughter soon filled the stadium as Cho streaked away in a rage. She followed Harry and Ginny and as soon as they landed, launched a Killing Curse directly at Ginny.

' _Oh bloody hell,_ ' stated Harry as he watched the curse approach them.

Before they could erect the shield however, someone dived in front of the curse and collapsed to the ground dead.

Harry and Ginny froze as they saw who was lying on the ground. Ron Weasley had made the ultimate sacrifice for them.

Ginny collapsed in tears as she saw her brother's body. Harry wasn't doing much better. They were quickly surrounded by their Elite Goblin guards, who were watching in case anyone else attempted to attack them.

' _Why did he do it?_ ' asked Ginny sadly.

' _He didn't know about our shield,_ ' Harry said.

They both continued to cry as the rest of their friends moved inside the Goblin perimeter and joined them on the ground.

Albus and Minerva quickly broke through the crowd that had gathered around Ron's body.

"Move back, please," stated Minerva.

They knew it was hopeless, but checked anyway and sadly confirmed that Ron was dead.

In all the confusion, Cho had been left alone and was watching as the crowd gather around Ron. She didn't understand why she had even done it, but knew she would be spending the rest of her life in Azkaban. Lifting her wand to her temple, she cast the Killing Curse on herself and slumped to the ground also.

Albus and Minerva, who had just looked around to see where Cho was, witnessed as she killed herself. They watched in sadness, knowing there was nothing they could do. She was too far away for any curse to stop her.

Albus approached Harry carefully, "I'm sorry there wasn't anything we could have done. I guess Ron didn't realize you would have been aware of the curse and thought you were vulnerable."

"Thank you. I will take Ginny home in a minute. Please can you let the rest of the family know?" replied Harry as he tried to comfort Ginny.

"I also wanted you to know that Miss Chang took her own life. Unfortunately, we may never know why she did it," explained Albus.

Harry acknowledged what Albus said before they both disappeared in a ball of fire, startling several people around them.

Xavier appeared moments later and flashed the body of Ron to Potter Castle so the elves could prepare it for burial.

The other students slowly made their way into the Great Hall, the game completely forgotten.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty One**

At Potter Castle, Molly had collapsed upon hearing the news that Ron had died attempting to protect Harry and Ginny.

"Why did this happen?" asked Molly when she finally stopped crying.

"Cho Chang has been causing problems all term. It was her fault that Harry and I broke up in the first place," explained Ginny.

"Molly, unfortunately Cho took her own life after Ron died so we may never know why it happened," added Harry.

As they were talking, the rest of the family, including Percy, arrived at the castle and quickly gathered around Arthur and Molly to comfort them.

"What happened?" demanded Bill, once he had made sure Fleur was comfortable.

"Now that everyone is here, let me explain everything," stated Harry, who went on to tell them what had happened between them and Cho this term.

"Unfortunately, it seems Ron wasn't aware that we can detect magic around us and knew the curse was coming," finished Harry.

The family spent the evening re-living memories of Ron as he grew up and decided that they were going to celebrate his life, instead of mourning his passing on.

"Molly, Maxim has prepared Ron's body. Would you and Arthur like to see him?" Harry asked them a while later.

"Thank you, Harry," Molly replied as they left the room slowly. Harry guided them down the stairs to the room that Maxim had set aside.

The rest of the family followed a little later and spent some time with the body before leaving again to return to the sitting room and preparing for the funeral later that evening.

"Harry, we would like to bury Ron at the Burrow," Arthur said once they had left the room.

"Certainly, I will ask Ranok to send a guard to make sure the house and garden is secure," replied Harry, who immediately dispatched Xavier with the request to Ranok.

"Thank you for taking care of this, especially after everything that happened between you."

"Arthur, that is all in the past. Ron has more than made up for it with his actions recently. Putting his own life in danger to protect Ginny is more important to me than anything else he could have done," explained Harry as they walked quietly around the castle.

"I am sorry that you were never to get back the friendship that you once had with Ron. I know that once he realized just how stupid he had been and what he had lost that he made an effort to really change."

"I know. I am sorry too that we never had the chance. It does make you realize just how important it is never to let these things get in the way. That is twice recently we have been taught that lesson and it doesn't make it any easier," replied Harry kindly.

"Unfortunately that is the curse of us redheads. We tend to act before we think," Arthur said. They both chuckled a little as they thought of their respective wives and just how true that was of each of them.

"How is Molly doing?"

"Surprisingly well, actually. I thought she would be more upset, but I think she is trying to stay strong for the rest of the family," explained Arthur.

"Well, it goes without saying: if there is anything you need, just ask," Harry told him before they walked into the sitting room where the rest of the family was.

* * *

"My Lord," said one of his younger Death Eaters.

"What?" replied Tom angrily as he still didn't have a clue what the Prophecy meant.

"We have determined what the Prophecy means."

"Well, get on with it then," demanded Tom, who was fingering his wand angrily.

"It is a fake. We spoke to a Muggle Priest and he told us that in the old days to know someone meant to sleep with them," said the Death Eater quietly.

Tom sat there, looking confused for several minutes before he exploded with wrath.

"I don't care what it takes. Bring me Potter, his bitch or their friends and don't bother returning if you don't have at least one of them," Tom screamed before dismissing them.

Most of the Death Eaters who had been there quickly disappeared, knowing the chances of catching any of them were slim.

"My Lord, I have additional news," stated the only Death Eater, who was brave enough to stay around.

"Go on," replied Tom.

"Ronald Weasley died today, protecting his sister, who was attacked by Cho Chang," she reported.

"I see and what use is that to me?"

"They will be having a service for him very soon. I thought it would be an opportunity to attack them."

"Very well. Take whoever you need and deal with it," order Tom before disappearing.

As soon as he got back to his room, he threw up as his mind went back to the mental image that the Prophecy had conjured up.

Afterwards, he went back to researching the formula that he had been working on before the attack that left him unconscious for so long.

* * *

Later that evening, the Weasley family, as well as friends from the Order and Hogwarts were all gathered in the back garden of the Burrow for the service.

"Thank you for coming at such short notice," Arthur said once everyone had settled down.

"This is a day that no parent ever wants to imagine, but sadly we are here now to remember the life of our youngest son, Ron. Let us not focus on the sadness of his passing, but instead let us remember the good times we enjoyed with Ron.

"It is no secret that Ron had a falling out with Harry and Ginny over the nature of their relationship last year. But this year things turned around and Ron was able to apologise and ask for forgiveness. It isn't surprising to us that Ron would sacrifice himself for Ginny or Harry and he will forever be remembered for doing so. Ron always felt inferior to his older brothers, but when it really counted, he stood up as any one of them would have and made us all proud.

"We will never forget Ron and as we commit his body to the ground, we can rejoice in the fact that he has gone on the next great adventure as a hero."

The coffin was slowly lowered into the ground as Arthur finished speaking and a tombstone appeared. Arthur slowly returned to his seat as Harry got up and addressed everyone.

"Ron was my first real friend. We met on the Hogwarts Express and have been friends ever since. While last year was very tough for a number of reasons, we were able to get past that. I will always remember the adventures that Ron, Hermione and I had together.

"Who would have fought that three first years would defeat a Troll, get past all the protections around a hidden object and then face Voldemort himself and survive? Or a year later face a fifty foot Basilisk and survive? While Ron wasn't there at the end in either case, it was his courage and strength that allowed me to be there. If it hadn't been for Ron's broken wand, then we would have been Obliviated by the fraud Lockhart and I would have never been able to rescue my beautiful wife, Ginny, from the Chamber of Secrets.

"Ginny and I have visited the place that Ron is now and can reassure you that he is not in pain or suffering. His uncles will most likely have already pranked him. Now they will be plotting on how to get you all back when you finally arrive, which I am sure they will be shouting loudly now-better be a very long time from now.

"To our friend, brother, and son, you will never be forgotten and will remain in our hearts forevermore."

With that, Harry and Ginny transformed into their Phoenix forms, surprising a number of people who had never seen it before and took off into the air to be joined by Fawkes and Xavier. The four Phoenixes flew in formation as they honoured the memory of Ron and, as with Severus, lit an Eternal Flame on top of the tombstone.

The family and friends celebrated late into the night, completely unaware that Death Eaters had attempted to interrupt the service and had been obliterated by the Goblin Warriors around the Burrow.

Just as Harry and Ginny were preparing to leave, Ranok arrived to talk with them.

"Harry, I wanted to advise you that, during the service, a group of Death Eaters arrived and attempted to attack the Burrow. It seemed that they were aware of the service today."

"Thank you, Ranok. I suspected that they would try something. After all, it is no secret where the Weasleys live. And it would have been not a surprise at all that they would hold the funeral here," replied Harry. "Although I am surprised at how fast they learned of this. Someone else has been involved in this whole affair. I just hope we find out who it is and soon."

"We took care of them and you won't have to worry about them again," announced Ranok with an evil smile.

"I am sure Tom will be pleased," Harry stated with an equally evil smile.

Harry and Ginny returned to their room in Potter Castle and were soon fast asleep.

* * *

Early the next morning, Voldemort was livid.

"Where are they?" screamed Voldemort when none of the attackers returned.

"I'm sorry to report that they were wiped out by the Goblin guards protecting the Burrow," reported one of the few Death Eaters that remained.

"Has there been any progress with the Giants?" Voldemort asked.

"Parkinson was too heavy handed with them and upset them," reported the Death Eater. "We attempted to regroup and communicate with them, but they will not talk to us. I have heard reports that Potter and his whore visited them not long after Parkinson upset them."

"Have they joined his alliance?"

"We don't know. They will not talk to us. Parkinson was ripped in two during his last attempt."

Voldemort was growing angrier by the minute. He didn't know why, but nothing he was doing recently was working. Potter had already wiped out eighty percent of his Death Eaters and they were not able to find new recruits.

He also knew his time was running short. Whatever the idiots had done during the last ritual had not worked as it should have done. Unfortunately he wasn't able to determine what went wrong as Lucius was the only one who had been involved the whole time.

With this in mind, he had begun working on a new plan, something he hoped would make a difference for the future.

Realizing that the Death Eater was still there, Voldemort turned to him.

"Don't go anywhere. I will be back shortly."

Voldemort left the chamber and returned to his potions lab where he had been preparing several complex potions.

* * *

At Hogwarts the next morning, Harry and Ginny were walking down to breakfast when they spotted Albus talking to an middle aged Chinese couple. They guessed that they were Cho's parents, but didn't want to approach them.

"Ah, here they are now," Albus said as Harry and Ginny came into view. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I would like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Chang. They would like to talk to you before leaving."

Albus showed them into a classroom nearby so they could have some privacy while talking.

"Good morning. I am sorry for your loss," Harry said as he shook Mr. Chang's hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," replied Mr. Chang as he took Harry's hand.

"We are sorry for what happened to Mr. Weasley," Mr. Chang said as they took seats.

"We knew that Cho was obsessed with you during the summer, but never realized just how serious it had become. She told us just this Christmas that she had dealt with the obsession and that it was no longer a problem.

"When Professor Dumbledore contacted us last night, we searched her room. It would seem that she was not working of her own accord.

"We found this journal hidden in her desk. I guess she suspected something might happen this term as she normally kept this very close," finished Mr. Chang before handing Harry the journal.

"We shouldn't read this. It was her private journal," replied Harry as he attempted to hand it back.

"I believe this is relevant to what happened. The information inside should help identify what was happening to her," replied Mr. Chang as he refused to take back the journal.

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _Harry won the Triwizard Tournament today. He was injured during the win and Voldemort returned, but he was still brave. I wish he wasn't seeing the Weasley bitch. I don't know what he sees in her. If it wasn't for that hair, you would think that she was just a boy._**

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _Mar. visited today. She told me that she may have a way for me to win over Harry. She is going to visit again in a few days to let me know the plan._**

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _Mar. visited again today. She told me that Harry would be visiting Diagon Alley on Friday and to be ready._**

"Whoever Mar. is, she must be a Death Eater," stated Harry. "They were the only ones, other than the Order who knew when we would be in Diagon Alley."

"Hmm, we need to find out who it is," Albus said. "Mr. Chang, do you have any idea who Mar. could be?"

"Sorry I don't. I know Cho had a visitor several times this summer, but we never found out her name," replied Mr. Chang.

Harry looked down again at the journal to see if there were any other clues.

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _We saw Harry in Diagon Alley as Mar. said we would. I remember walking behind them for a while and then waking up in St. Mungo's. The nurses said I had been hit by a powerful Bat Bogey Hex, but I have no memory of it happening._**

"Why would she not remember?" said Mrs. Chang, speaking for the first time.

"Sounds like she was under the Imperius Curse," Albus replied.

"Well, if that is the case, it would explain why she acted the way she did. Let's see what other entries there are," added Harry as he continued to read.

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _I followed Harry down to the Quidditch pitch today. Yet again I woke up in the hospital wing and don't remember anything else._**

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _Mar. gave me the formula to the love potion today. I am going to steal one of the first year's cauldron to brew it so they cannot pin it on me. I hope this works. It is killing me to see Harry all over the Weasley bitch so much._**

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _I don't know what went wrong, but now Harry has left Hogwarts and Weasley knows that I was responsible. It felt like she was searching through my memories when she approached me. I didn't realize she was so powerful. I will never stop loving Harry, but am not sure I can pursue him any longer._**

"That's interesting, so she attempted to stop. Let's see what happened as obviously that didn't happen," stated Harry.

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _I think I am losing my memory. Morag asked me why I was talking to Michael Corner when I had told her several times that I hated him. The next morning he was found dead. I don't remember talking to him._**

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _Mar. got angry with me today when I said I didn't want to be involved with the plan any longer and was not going to chase after Harry. I don't remember what happened after that, but woke up feeling very sore throughout my body._**

 ** _Dear Journal,_**

 ** _I betrayed Harry today. I don't remember doing it, but Professor Umbridge thanked me for providing her the information on Dumbledore's Army. Once Harry finds out, he will never even give me another chance. I wish I had never told Mar. I liked Harry. Everything has gone wrong now._**

"That was the last entry, Mr. Chang. It would seem that she stopped writing a while before Christmas. Unfortunately we don't have enough information to go on at the moment, but we will get to the bottom of this. I can promise you this: when we find out who was doing this, they will be punished, severely," stated Harry as he looked up angrily.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. I am just glad that Cho wasn't doing this herself. It did seem rather out of place for her."

"If there is anything Ginny or I can do, please let us know," Harry said as he shook Mr. Chang's hand again before opening the door to lead them back to the Entrance Hall.

Just as they walked around the corner, a group of Ravenclaw students walked past as breakfast had just finished.

"That's her," stated Mrs. Chang as she pointed at Marietta Edgecombe.

Suddenly pandemonium broke out in the Entrance Hall as Marietta attempted to escape. A number of students had to dive out of the way as a volley of curses flew from the wands of Mr. and Mrs. Chang. Thankfully they were only using Stunners as several students were not fast enough and were hit when the spells missed Marietta.

Harry held back from attacking as he knew his anger wasn't under control and the result would have been disastrous. Ginny didn't have any reservations and sent an extremely powerful Stunner towards Marietta as she made it to the main doors. The result caused quite a few people to have a new respect for Ginny as Marietta was blasted over a hundred meters across the courtyard before landing in a heap.

Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, and Slughorn had arrived to see what the commotion was and quickly revived the fallen students. Once they realized that Albus was there and dealing with Marietta and the Changs, they forced everyone else to continue to their first lessons.

Albus retrieved Marietta from outside the main doors and then, with the Changs, returned to his office. Harry handed over the journal and left Albus to deal with the aftermath.

Harry and Ginny headed to the kitchens as they had missed breakfast and, after their morning run, were starving.

' _I don't believe this. Why didn't we see the signs?_ ' asked Ginny as she slowly ate the breakfast that had been served.

' _We were too busy trying to avoid her to notice. It would seem that Marietta was a lot better at this than anyone would have suspected._ '

' _Now I feel terrible for what happened with Cho. She didn't deserve to die like that just because someone else was controlling her actions. I wish there was a way to stop the Imperius Curse,_ ' stated Ginny.

' _I am sure if we put our minds to it, we could find a way. Just think how useful that would be,_ ' replied Harry, suddenly intrigued with the idea.

They continued to eat breakfast as they thought of ways they could potentially block the curse.

* * *

Albus waited patiently with Mr. and Mrs. Chang for Aurors to arrive so they could get to the bottom of what had really happened. Albus had also sent a message to Madam Edgecombe as she would need to be present for the questioning.

As soon as Madam Edgecombe walked in, she saw Marietta unconscious and bound in a chair and confronted Albus. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Madam Edgecombe, yesterday afternoon, two of our students died during an unprovoked attack on another student," started Albus.

"What has that got to do with Marietta?"

"Unfortunately, we have discovered that one of the students who died appeared to have been under the Imperius Curse. We have reason to believe that your daughter was responsible for this," replied Albus.

"HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE MY DAUGHTER?" screamed Madam Edgecombe in a rage.

"Madam Edgecombe, will you please calm down? We will quickly get to the bottom of this. If Marietta is innocent, then we will release her," stated Dumbledore, letting a little of his power flow over the room.

"I don't agree to this," stated Madam Edgecombe.

"Due to the seriousness of the case, you cannot stop us from questioning Marietta. The law requires that you be present, but we don't need your permission," stated Kingsley as he produced a bottle of Veritaserum.

"Who are you?"

"Auror Shacklebolt, Madam Edgecombe. We will be questioning her using Veritaserum. Any evidence gathered may be used in any case against her."

Madam Edgecombe could see that she wasn't going to win this argument, so she backed down.

Kingsley approached Marietta and then fed her three drops of Veritaserum before reviving her.

"Please state your name," Kingsley asked.

"Marietta Edgecombe," she replied in a monotone voice.

"Are you friends with Cho Chang?"

"No, she was just a puppet."

"Why?"

"She wanted Harry Potter and we wanted to split him from the Weasley bitch," replied Marietta.

"Who is 'we'?"

"Madam Umbridge, Mr. Parkinson, Pansy Parkinson, Malcolm Baddock and I," replied Marietta, who was trying to stop herself from talking.

"Have you ever used the Imperius Curse on Miss Chang?"

"Yes."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Miss Edgecombe, you are under arrest for using an Unforgivable Curse and for being a member of an illegal organization," stated Kingsley.

Kingsley escorted them all out of the office, advising Madam Edgecombe that Marietta would be held at the Ministry until her trial.

Mrs. Edgecombe was stunned by what had happened. She knew her daughter had been disappearing regularly, but never suspected that she was involved with the Death Eaters.

She didn't even look back at her daughter as she was escorted from the building. As soon as Madam Edgecombe got back home, she packed up her things and disappeared. She knew perfectly well that when news got out about Marietta, she would never be able to life down the embarrassment.

* * *

Voldemort returned from his potions the next day and was surprised to see the Death Eater still waiting.

"I need you to find a Muggle male about my height, who is in good shape. Whatever you have to do, make sure the body is not damaged in any way," ordered Voldemort as he paced around the room.

"My Lord, why do you want a Muggle?" asked one of the Death Eaters stupidly.

"That is none of your concern! Just do it and make it quick," spat Voldemort before torturing him.

The Death Eater quickly left the hideout and went to carry out the task he had been assigned. Meanwhile, Voldemort returned to his Potions lab and continued to add ingredients to the bubbling cauldron that sat in the middle of the room.

"It will soon be time," Voldemort said to himself as he stirred counterclockwise three times.

He had not told any of the Death Eaters about his plans. He had finally discovered how Harry had been getting his information. He also knew that something had happened recently that changed the nature of the link between them. It seemed that he had more control over it than before. He planned to use this control to his advantage before destroying it completely.

* * *

The New Marauders, Albus Dumbledore, and Minerva McGonagall all stood around the grave of Cho Chang as the coffin was lowered into the ground.

They had spoken to Mr. Chang after Marietta had been dealt with and requested permission to attend the services for Cho.

"Thank you for coming," stated Mr. Chang after the service. "Would you please join us back at our house?"

"Of course," stated Harry, knowing the others would attend.

Mr. Chang gave them the directions to the house before he Apparated away with Mrs. Chang.

Harry and the others arrived a few minutes later to see the rest of the Chang family celebrating the life of Cho. They were a little surprised by the reaction of the family as they expected some hostility, but none of them showed any.

"Harry, thank you again for coming and celebrating Cho's life with us," Mrs. Chang said a while later. "It really means a lot that you could look past what happened and were willing to come."

"It wasn't Cho's fault what happened. She didn't deserve it and shouldn't have had to die," replied Harry kindly. "I am just sorry that we didn't realize sooner. Maybe we could have done something to help her."

"Please don't blame yourself. We didn't react quickly enough either," stated Mrs. Chang. "We should have realized something was wrong when she was spending so much time with that girl, instead of studying. She was always so committed to completing her studies before."

"There are many people who could be blamed for not seeing what was happening to your daughter," Albus said as he joined the conversation. "The teachers and I have been very lax in monitoring the activities of the students and it seems that we have been too generous in assuming that they are acting appropriately. That is something that we will be changing very soon. Unfortunately it is too late to help Cho, but hopefully it will help others."

"Mrs. Potter, can you please express to your family how sorry we are that your brother died? While it may not have been Cho's fault in the end, it is still her actions that caused it and we will never be able to right the wrong that has been done," Mr. Chang said a little later.

"I will talk to them this evening, Mr. Chang. Everyone is slowing coming to terms with what happened. Ron died honourably and we will never forget what he did," replied Ginny sadly.

They continued to talk late into the evening with the Changs and their family before returning to Hogwarts.

* * *

Harry and Ginny still had not worked out what had changed in the link to Tom's mind. All they knew was they still had access, but based on what they found out during the meetings, it didn't seem that they knew every time Tom summoned his Death Eaters.

' _Xavier, please can you tell Albus that Tom is meeting with his Death Eaters again?_ ' Harry said, before they laid on the bed and entered their minds.

As they entered the door, they noticed that everything was even more organized than the last time they had been there.

' _It looks like Tom's been busy,_ ' Harry said to Ginny as they continued to their normal vantage point.

"Ah good, we are ready to start," stated Tom as he paced in front of the few followers he had left.

"My friends, it seems that we have been fighting a losing battle. Each step we took was thwarted before it could begin. At first, I thought we had another spy in our midst," Tom hissed before looking at each of the Death Eaters menacingly.

"However, I have recently learned how they have been getting the information and therefore the identity of the spies."

Harry and Ginny were suddenly very nervous.

"It seems that when I attempted to kill Harry Potter when he was a mere child, I created a link to his mind, which he and Mrs. Potter have been using to spy on us. Right this minute they are both watching us and I am sure they will report back exactly what happens to the old fool Dumbledore."

Harry and Ginny looked around quickly to determine if anything had changed with the link. They were not sure if Tom could trap them somehow and what that would mean.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I have no intention of allowing you to continue to spy on me. I cannot stop you this time, but after today, it will no longer matter," announced Tom as he looked into a mirror.

' _Ginny, we need to get ready to get out of here fast. I have no clue what Tom has planned, but don't want to take any risks._ '

Ginny made her way to the door and opened it. They knew with the wards in place that Tom would not be able to get into their minds and now that the link was forced opened, they should be able to escape without any issues.

"My friends, I need to know that you are all behind me," announced Tom.

"Of course, my Lord," each of them replied immediately.

"Excellent, then bring out the body so that we can begin."

Harry watched as Tom performed a series of complicated wand movements and incantations over the body that the Death Eaters had brought out. Harry noticed that, during the whole thing, Tom never once looked at the body.

As Tom continued, Harry noticed that everything around them in Tom's mind was starting to disappear.

' _Oh Merlin, he has found a way to transfer his memories and magic to a new host,_ ' stated Harry before jumping up and racing back to the door.

As soon as they exited, they sealed the door and quickly woke up.

' _Xavier, I need you to go to Ranok immediately and ask him to gather as many Goblin warriors as he can and meet us at Hogwarts,_ " Harry ordered as he changed into his battle robes.

' _Phoenix Battalion, please report immediately to Hogwarts,_ ' Harry then ordered before grabbing several items from his office and then flashed directly to Albus' office. Ginny also disappeared to gather the New Marauders and everyone else who had been training with them.

"What's going on, Harry?" asked Albus as soon as Harry arrived.

"Tom knows about the link and is planning to do something that will terminate it. While we were watching him, we noticed that his memories were disappearing. The Death Eaters brought out a body and I can only assume that he has found some way of transferring his memories and magic to that body."

"Did you see the body?" asked Albus.

"No, he was very careful never to look at the body," replied Harry. "We have to attack now. I have already sent a message to Ranok and we need to gather as many troops as we can."

"How will we get there?"

"Severus left us a Portkey to Tom's main hideout. I am almost certain he will be there."

Albus dispatched a number of Patronus messages as they made their way down to the courtyard. When they got there, it was packed. There were at least a thousand Goblin Warriors, two hundred Phoenixes, the New Marauders, a few members of the Order who were nearby and most of Dumbledore's Army.

"We have learned that Tom has found a way to transfer his memories and magic to a new body. We have to act now if we have any hope of stopping him. If he manages to get away, then we will never know what he looks like," announced Harry.

"We have an advantage that Tom doesn't know about. However the attack will not be easy. We will almost certainly meet resistance along the way. You all know what needs to be done. We cannot allow Tom to escape.

"A small group will travel with me using this Portkey. Once we have arrived, the Phoenix Battalion will transport everyone else to the same location and will deploy throughout the complex. We don't know how many Death Eaters Tom has left or the layout of the complex. They will have the advantage, but we cannot allow them to stop us.

"Where possible, please avoid killing anyone unless it is absolutely the only option. Also, if you are injured, use the emergency Portkeys that are being passed around. They will return you to the infirmary.

"Remember the Death Eaters will not hesitate to use the Unforgivables. Make sure you are aware of everything that is happening around you at all times," finished Harry.

Everyone acknowledged Harry's orders and prepared for transport to the battle.

Harry transfigured the Portkey into a large rope and told everyone with him to grab on. The New Marauders, Albus, Minerva, Ranok, Harry and Ginny's Elite Goblin Warriors and ten other Goblin Warriors all grabbed the rope.

Harry activated the Portkey and they all disappeared.

* * *

Tom was reaching the final stage of the process when alarms started ringing around the hideout.

"What is that, my Lord?" asked one of the Death Eaters.

"Someone has activated an emergency Portkey. It must be Potter. That traitor Severus must have left his. Whatever happens, you cannot allow them into this room until the process has been completed."

The remaining Death Eaters immediately left the room and set up a perimeter.

Meanwhile, in one of the side rooms, Harry and the others looked around before Harry sent a message to the Phoenix Battalion to deploy.

Moments later, flashes of light filled the complex as the large force arrived. The Death Eaters took up their positions and started fighting, but knew they were vastly outnumbered.

"Get back and tell our Lord," ordered the senior Death Eater.

The Death Eater disappeared as the others continued to throw every curse they could towards the advancing attackers.

"It is useless to resist," stated Albus as he approached the largest group of Death Eaters.

"We will never let you win," replied the Death Eater before throwing a string of deadly curses at Albus, all of which were absorbed by a shield.

"Potter is here," shouted the Death Eater as they looked around, trying to find him.

The Death Eaters put up a good fight. They were not going to let anyone past them. They were working in groups so that a constant barrage of curses flew out from their position.

Harry realized quickly that it was a stalemate and it became clear to all of them that the Death Eaters didn't want anyone to get into the room.

Harry backed away from the fight so that he could focus his power on creating anti-portkey and apparition wards around the room behind the Death Eaters.

As soon as the wards were established Ginny and he flashed behind the Death Eaters.

"Looking for me?" asked Harry. As soon as they spun around, Harry and Ginny launched a volley of curses so quickly that none of them had a chance to even erect a shield.

With the resistance gone, Harry and the others made their way towards the final door, they could already sense a number of people in the room.

Harry signalled to the others to wait as Ginny and he inspected the door for several minutes and were very surprised that there was nothing protecting it.

"Something's not right, there is no protection on this door," stated Harry.

"Maybe they expected to be gone already," replied Albus.

"There are still some people in there, remember we don't know what Tom looks like so we will need to take out as many people as possible. We don't want to risk him escaping somehow," Harry told them before turning back to the door.

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand before sending an extremely powerful blasting curse at the door. The blast which disintegrated the door sent a shockwave around the room knocking out several of the Death Eaters hidden nearby. However there were still enough of them to make getting into the room difficult.

As soon as the door was opened the group of Elite Goblin Warriors charged forward, as they entered the room they sending out a wave of curses in every direction. The battle was fierce but short, several of the Warriors were cut down by the curses from the Death Eaters who where spread out around the room. As the Warriors battle the Death Eaters the others in Harry's group were able to enter and quickly finished off the remaining Death Eaters.

Harry and Ginny started checked the bodies of the Death Eaters, as the others looked around the room. Most of the Death Eaters had died during the fight but several were still breathing. Harry used Legilemens on each of them to determine which one was Tom.

"Here he is," announced Harry after checking his fifth Death Eater, he quickly bound Tom with Phoenix magic to ensure he couldn't escape.

"Is he alive?" asked Albus.

"Yes, but he is losing blood rapidly, I doubt he will survive much longer," announced Harry as he dragged the body next to his old one.

"Will he really die this time?" asked Hermione.

"I believe so," Albus told them. "I was just reading some of his notes and when he transferred to the new body he took over the soul that was already there. His old one was too damaged from all the Horcruxes so it was the only way for him to do it.

"Can it really be that easy?" asked Harry slightly shocked that Tom was be that careless.

"I don't think he expected you to find out until it was too late," added Ranok.

"We need to be sure," Harry said as he revived Tom.

"Hello Tom," stated Harry calmly.

"Don't call me that, my name is Lord Voldemort," spat Tom in reply.

"Not for very much longer," replied Harry.

Harry could see Tom struggling against the bonds.

"It is useless to resist, Tom. Not even you were strong enough to break Phoenix magic when you had your old body."

"You can't kill me, Potter," spat Tom weakly as he felt himself getting dizzy from the blood lose.

"I don't need to Tom, you have already lost too much blood. We already know that your old Horcruxes are useless now so it is only a matter of time," stated Harry.

For the first time since leaving Hogwarts when he was sixteen Tom felt fear as he felt his life slipping away. For the first time he realized just how pointless his fight had been, he tried to cheat death and now as he stepped over the boundary to the next life he knew he would have to account for everything he had done.

With his dying breath he said one single word, something that shocked everyone in the room "Sorry."

Harry and the others searched the whole place and destroyed everything they could. Most of it related to rituals that Tom had performed on his old body, they wanted to make sure that no-one would be able to do them again.

It was soon very clear that Tom had made certain to leave no evidence of where he was planning to going after performing the transfer ritual.

"We need to take Tom's old body back with us," stated Harry as they finished up searching the hideout. "That way we can show the world that Tom has finally been defeated and we don't have to mention anything about the transfer."

The others quickly agreed and they all swore and oath never to reveal everything they had learned while in the hideout.

With that, the large force disappeared from the hideout and returned to Hogwarts. To ensure no one could ever use the hideout again, Harry and Ginny caused a magical explosion, which leveled it.

As soon as the force arrived they were surrounded by reporters who had arrived at Hogwarts when they heard that Harry and the others had disappeared.

"Mr. Potter, is it true that he-who-must-not-be-named is dead?" someone asked.

"Yes, we can confirm that the man who called himself Lord Voldemort has been defeated once and for all," replied Harry as he summoned the body for them to see.

The cheer that filled the room was deafening as everyone started to celebrate.

Before anyone else could ask a question Albus stepped forward. "As you can see Lord Voldemort is dead. I would request that you give Mr. Potter and the others who were involved in the battle some space. When they are ready I am sure they will be happy to speak to you."

The reporters quickly disappeared so they could get back to their offices and publish the news that most of the Wizarding World had been waiting a long time for.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

The Wizarding World enjoyed an extended period of peace following the death of Tom Riddle. The Council of Magic decided, with Amelia, that they would release limited information of what Tom had done and how he had survived when Harry was one.

Harry sent the Phoenix Battalion back to the Phoenix Realm as they were no longer needed.

Harry and the others finished out the school year by passing every one of the OWLs by such a large margin that they were all given the option of skipping their sixth year. All of them decided to take the option, leaving all the New Marauders preparing for their seventh year together, much to the displeasure of some of the professors and amusement of the others.

During the summer, Albus and Minerva, Remus and Tonks, Fred and Hermione, Bill and Fleur, and Harry and Ginny each had the wedding of their dreams at Potter Castle. Amelia had sponsored a law that allowed werewolves to marry, due to the availability of the new potion that stopped the transformations. The law also provided funding to ensure that the potion was available to everyone who needed it.

The other surprise for everyone was the relationship that developed between Sirius and one Petunia Evans, who had filed for divorce from Vernon shortly after meeting Lily's portrait for the first time. The meeting was very unpleasant to start with, but eventually Lily could see that Petunia regretted what had happened. Once she agreed to get divorced to show how sorry she was, Lily forgave her.

As the summer progressed, Bill and Fleur had a baby boy, who they named Dominic Ronald Weasley. Remus and Tonks also had a boy, who they named Theodore James Lupin.

Just as they were preparing to head back to Hogwarts for their seventh year, Ginny approached Harry very nervously.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked as he felt the worry flowing through the bond. He knew Ginny had been keeping something from him, but knew it wasn't anything bad. Ginny wasn't stupid enough to do anything like that twice.

"Harry, I think we forgot to cast the Contraceptive Charm," replied Ginny, without looking at him.

Harry, realizing immediately what she was saying, swept her off her feet and spun her around in excitement. Ginny was finally fulfilling the wish she had made to provide Harry a family of his own, something far more powerful in her mind than any level of magical ability could have provided.

"Put me down, Potter," shouted Ginny, but her laugh ruined the sternness in her voice.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am two weeks along," replied Ginny, relieved that Harry was not upset.

"That is the best news I have heard in a long time."

They celebrated long into the night. Molly was less than thrilled when she got the news, but soon accepted that they were married and therefore had not done anything wrong.

 **** THE END ****

 _A/N: Thank you to everyone who has followed this story and reviewed. I have another story in the works but won't start posting that until I have more of it written and am happy with the story line. It isn't a bond story but is a Harry/Ginny story_


End file.
